Aggie Sports Break Part 3

Part 2

11-27-25

Happy Thanksgiving.    Dad and I had dinner with a couple of very nice neighbors and it was great.    Since I didn’t actually see or hear the games, I’ll only put a little summary here of Aggie Women’s Basketball games for the week.   

On Monday, the Aggie Women lost to San Diego, 57-48.    Imani Warren scored 20 points, but Lucia Yenes held to 6 points.    Lucia Lara had 9 points with 9 rebounds.    The team was shooting 35%.   

Playing at a tournament over Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the ladies lost on Thursday, 72-42, to the College of Charleston.    Lucia had 8 points and Imani had 7 points with 7 rebounds.    The team was shooting 28%.    On Friday, they lost, 64-49, to Fresno State.    Lucia had 13 points and Loes Rozing had 12 points.    Emma Christiano had 4 assists and 3 rebounds.    The team was shooting 37%.    These two games were on Youtube, but I wasn’t able to watch (which might have been just as well).    Yeah, this isn’t encouraging.

11-29-25

It was the Aggie Football finale, along with the regular season of College Football.    The Aggies were playing at home against Middle Tennessee State. The two teams were fairly evenly matched.    Adam Damante was in at quarterback for the Aggies with Logan Fife still injured.    Ryan Hawk would be back kicking.     

In the first quarter, the Aggies got a fumble and might have run it back, but the play was blown dead.    The Aggies did get the ball, but didn’t score.    A 65-yd touchdown pass to TK King was the game’s first score, but MT answered right back.    A couple of missed tackles resulted in a 63-yd rushing touchdown and it was 7-7.

I watched the Southern/Grambling Battle of the Bands and missed most of the second quarter.    1-10 Southern would beat 7-5 Grambling State, 28-27, and they won the band battle (in my opinion).    I missed nothing in the Aggie game.    MT got a TD after a fumble right before the half and it was 14-7 MT.   

Meanwhile, UTEP was playing the Delaware Blue Hens in their final game and lost, 61-31.    The Blue Hens kicked a 45-yd field goal for the last play of the game.    Were they rubbing it in or was there some other reason?    Regardless, I love the Blue Hens!    The Miners finished the season, 2-10.    Delaware, in their first year in FBS, will be bowl eligible with a waiver.    I was checking some other games were on TV.    I noticed on different networks, they were suddenly airing the conversations between the referees and the review booth.    I approve of this.

In the third quarter, the Aggie defense stopped MT on a fourth down in Aggie territory, but give the ball right back on an interception.    This resulted in a field goal to make it, 17-7 MT.    The Aggies come back with a TD to make it, 17-14 MT.   

To the fourth quarter.    A bomb to TK King to put the Aggies on the goal line and Damante was tush-pushed in.    21-17 Aggies.    The Aggie defense got a couple of sacks on next series, but the offence gave up an interception right after.    This led to MT taking the lead with a touchdown, 24-21.   

Late in the game, the final Aggie drive seemingly ended with an interception with a pick 6 on a fourth down.    However, this was waved off for pass interference and gave the Aggies a first down instead.    A dropped touchdown pass would have won it, but the Aggies had to instead settle for a tying field goal, 24-24, to send it to overtime.    Worse, Damante was hurt on the drive (with a broken leg) and third string QB, Parker Awad, was in.    MT scored a touchdown on their possession in OT.    The Aggies kept taking penalties (false starts) on their possession and did not score.    Middle Tennessee wins, 31-24.

On the good side, TK King had the best day as an Aggie receiver in 10 years with 10 catches for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns (nearly 3).    The Aggie Defense also finished with getting a takeaway in every game this season.    For today though, the Offense had 2 interceptions and a fumble.    On the Aggie Coach’s Show, Coach Sanchez offhandedly blamed the officiating.    He has a point.    On a couple plays, the officials threw flags and then picked them up, along with some other issues.    That said, the Aggies had plenty of chances to win this.

It’s been a disappointing season.    It’s disappointing because the Aggie Football team is so close to being decent.    All these close losses have been hurtful.    It feels like they’re just a couple more good players away from turning it around (unlike the Aggie Women’s sports I’ve seen, where they need wholesale improvements).    The best I can say for this season is that I enjoyed the game I went to (10-2-25) and really enjoyed that win over UTEP (11-22-25).                 

12-2-25

Once again, Aggie Men’s Basketball was playing a neutral site game, this one in Katy, Texas.    They were playing 7-1 South Alabama, so this would be a serious test for the unbeaten 6-0 Aggies.    (Of course, our Football game against the Jaguars on 12-2-17 will live on in every Aggie fan’s memory.)    An impressive singing group performed the National Anthem before the game.    Big man Augustine Ekwe was back playing for the Aggies.

SA ran up an early lead.    Gabe Pickens made a clean steal and a layup to start an Aggie comeback.    “School’s out,” as Russ Langford said on the radio call.    Elijah Elliot made two 3’s to give Aggies their first lead, 20-15, with 11 minutes left in the half.    They ran it up to a 6-point lead, but SA tied it with 4 minutes left.    Elliot then made his fourth 3 to get the Aggies back to a 6-point lead.    It would be 36-32 Aggies at the half.

In the second half, the Aggies had some sloppy play and SA took a 45-38 lead with 15 minutes left.    Jemel Jones tied it at 49 with a 3 with 12 minutes left.    Jayland Randall hit a 3 for an Aggie lead, 52-51, on a shot that went in, then out, and then finally fell in.    Elliot made his fifth and sixth 3’s, along with a Jemel jumper, which gave the Aggies a 70-66 lead with 3 minutes left.   

The Aggies kept scoring.    Randall had a layup and a foul and hit the free throw.    He got another layup after an offensive rebound.    It was 75-70 Aggies with 2 minutes left.    SA was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all 3 free throws to make it a 2-point game with a minute left.    It was a 1-point Aggie lead with 38 seconds left.    SA made 2 more free throws to take a 1-point lead.    With 16 seconds left, the Aggies missed their shot and had to foul.    SA made 1 free throw for a 2-point lead.    Elliot missed a last second shot and SA won, 77-75.

Well, it was an entertaining game with lots of scoring.    Jayland Randall had 21 points, Elijah Elliot had 18 with 6 3’s, and Jemel Jones had 17 points with 9 rebounds.    The Aggies were shooting 42%, but SA shooting better overall and on 3’s and especially on free throws (32 of 39).    The Aggies’ hard play and fouling would have worked had it not been for the Jaguars making their throws. 

12-4-25

To close the loop on local Volleyball this season, UTEP Volleyball was beaten, 3-1 by North Carolina.    I’m kind of ambivalent about it.    Coach Wallis said they’d had too many injuries this season to be competitive in the tournament. C-USA’s other entry, WKU, was also beaten in their first match in straight sets.

The Aggie Women’s Basketball team lost to Southern Utah, 69-59.    The Aggies had three players in double figures: Imani Warren, Lucia Yenes, and Anna Csenyi.    Still, the team lost by 10. Morane Dossou had 11 rebounds.    The Aggies were shooting 37%.    The overall stats were fairly even between the teams, except SU was shooting free throws at 80% (21-26). That’s probably the difference.    The ladies’ record is 1-6 on the season.

 

12-6-25

While watching some College Football Conference Championships with dad, I was also listening to Aggie Men’s Basketball versus Abilene Christian.    We also had lunch at Long John Silvers.    It was so unhealthy and I was a little queasy afterward, but it was so, so good.    You kind of have to wait until you’ve forgotten about the last time you’ve been there before you can go back.

     

The Aggies had a 77-69 loss in their first official road game (as opposed to a neutral site game).    The Aggies got out to an early lead, but lost it by halftime, down by 8.    They came out firing to start the second and got it to within 2, but never fully caught up.    Finally, AC pulled away.

Jemel Jones had 19 points, Juice Mims had 10 points, and Kyrese Mullen had 13 points.    The team shot 37%.    AC shot an impressive 50%, 47% on 3’s, and 82% on free throws.    AC was also up 28 points in the paint to 18 for the Aggies.    It wasn’t the Aggies’ best effort on offense or defense, so little wonder they lost.   

The ladies had better luck today.    Aggie Women’s Basketball won, 58-55, over Utah Tech.    From the recap, the Aggies were down 9 points in fourth, but came back for the close win.    On an assist by our dear Emma Christiano, Imani Warren hit a jumper to give the Aggies the lead near the end of the game.    Imani had 13 points, Keira Hudson 16 points in a career high, Lucia Yenes had 12 points and 7 rebounds, Morane Dossou pulled down 12 rebounds, and Emma had 5 points.    The Aggies were shooting 39% and had 12 steals overall for the game.   

This is the final break report.    I plan on being at the Aggie Women’s game next weekend.

MLB Postseason 2025

This postseason has been a complete bust for me.    I got to see three of the Wild Card games that I went down to my dad’s apartment to watch.    Other than that, I could only listen to radio coverage when I had an Internet connection at work.    However, I’ve mostly been absorbed with current events and haven’t listened; I’ve only been keeping up with the scores.

The first two games were the Padres versus the Cubs.    I was pleased that the Orioles’ color commentator, Ben McDonald, was working those games.    I enjoy his Southern accent and enthusiasm.    I had a rooting interest in the Padres, but I wasn’t desperate to see them win.    I took down a few nearly unreadable notes.    To give you an idea of diligent I was, I forgot to write down the final score for both games.    (The Cubs would win the series.)

I might have been more interested in watching the ticker in the corner of the coverage that was showing the other series, the Tigers versus the Indians.    After the Dodgers dismissed the Reds in two games, they switched the schedule to broadcast the Tigers and Indians in the afternoon.    Here I do have a rooting interest for the Tigers as a longtime fan.    I watched this game more intently and enjoyed the Tigers’ victory.    It was nice revenge after their incredible collapse in the regular season to hand the Indians the division.   

Elsewhere, the Yankees beat the Red Sox in the Wild Card series, but amusingly fell to the Blue Jays in the Division round.    (It was amusing to me, at least.)    Also in the Divisional round, the Dodgers dismissed the Phillies.    The Brewers eliminated the Cubs.    I also have a rooting interest in the Brew Crew with Aggie great, Joey Ortiz, and former Chihuahuas manager, Pat Murphy.   

The Tigers played the Mariners in what turned out to be an epic battle.    The series went to a fifth game.    Tarik Skubal pitched well, but so did the M’s.    This one went well into the night to the tune of 15 innings, but the Seattle fans carried their team to victory.    This was the second lengthy extra innings game of the postseason.    MLB might want to reevaluate their stance on not having the automatic runner after the regular season.    [Post World Series Edit: You haven’t seen anything yet, pal.]

After that full series and nearly double-length Friday game, the Mariners had to travel across country to Toronto to play the Blue Jays on Sunday.    Not only did the M’s win that game, they won the day game on Monday.    Fatigue will not deter the Team of Destiny, until they went back to Seattle and got clobbered in Games 3 and 4.   

In Game 5, down 2-1, Cal Raleigh homered to tie it.    After 3 walks, Eugenio Suarez hit a grand slam to win it.    (And I missed it.    I’d walked out of the room when it happened.)    Back to Toronto, this series would go the full 7.    In the seventh inning with Seattle up by a run, George Springer hit a 3-run homer that won it for the Blue Jays.    Meanwhile, the Dodgers dismissed the Brewers in four.    Shohei Ohtani personally ended the Brewers in Game 4 with 3 home runs and got the win pitching with 10 strikeouts.

Both season previews that I got in March picked the Blue Jays to finish in last place in the AL East, so their appearance in the World Series was highly unexpected.    Meanwhile, I noticed a couple of members the sports Media trying to drum up support and viewers for the Dodgers.    They were saying what a great team they are and you should really watch their greatness.   

The Media promotes the Dodgers all year and are well aware how unpopular they are because of the franchise’s free spending.    They want to justify their coverage and their support for the Player’s Union against a salary cap (since they interview players all the time).    You have to love the Dodgers.    You simply must.    The MLB isn’t the NFL.    The Sports Media has no interest in doing comprehensive baseball coverage; they just want to cover the Dodgers and the Yankees.

In spite of their long series, the Blue Jays were the surprise Game 1 winner in Toronto, 11-4. It was called a Dodger “pitching implosion.”  Ohtani did homer.    I noticed that Ty France was playing for the Jays.    He was actually pretty productive as a pinch hitter.    The Dodgers came back with a 5-1 win in Game 2. Will Smith had 3 RBI’s.

Then, the disaster occurred.    Game 3 went 18 innings. Shockingly, we’ve done this before in the World Series between the Dodgers and the Astros.    That one took much longer because there wasn’t a pitch clock then.    This one was a 6-5 Dodger win off a Freddie Freeman home run. Ohtani was on base 9 times in the game.    (He was issued a lot of walks in extra innings.)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer off of Ohtani for a Game 4, 6-2, Blue Jay win.    It was Vlady again in Game 5, as the Jays began the game with a pair of homers and won, 6-1.    Back to Toronto, the Dodgers took Game 6 behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s pitching in a tight, 3-1, game.    A double play with the tying runs on ended the game.

The finale in Game 7 took 11 innings.    The Dodgers came back in the game to tie it in the ninth, and then win it, 5-4, on a Will Smith home run.    Yamamoto won the MVP for getting three wins in the series.  I didn’t see any of this.    I didn’t even listen to most of it, even when I had the opportunity.    I just wasn’t into it.    I’m only documenting this (in a half-ass way) because I was covering the season and should finish it.   

This is the first repeat World Series winner in quite a while.    So much for saying that, “Money isn’t buying championships in the MLB.”    Next season, the Dodgers are going to buy all of the major free agents and carry $2B in deferred salaries.  They’ll start stockpiling extra players in Triple-A.

It was just a lousy weekend for sports for me.    Saturday, the NM State Volleyball girls were unexpectedly swept by LA Tech, a team that was winless in conference.    Everyone seemed to be playing, so I have no explanation.   

Vanderbilt lost to Texas.    Former Aggie star quarterback, Diego Pavia, led a three-touchdown comeback in the fourth quarter and the team almost recovered an on-side kick to continue the game.    From a disappointment standpoint, I’d almost rather they’d just gotten blown out.    I did not have following Vanderbilt Football on my Bingo card, but they’ve been on national TV three times this season.       

Aggie Football got creamed by Western Kentucky.    I don’t even want to talk it.    In the evening, Connor Zilisch with his 10 wins came in second in the NASCAR Xfinity Championship to Jesse Love with his 3 wins.    The Chase format really picks the true champion.    The World Series was on the radio and then powered down for the night right before first pitch.    Nobody else on the dial was carrying the game.    I was intermittently following along with the scoring.    Everyone was very excited about the game and said it was one of the best World Series ever.        

I’m partly angry I couldn’t watch for yet another year.    I might be even more angry that it was another World Series where I didn’t like either team and had no rooting interest.    Last year, it was the Dodgers and Yankees, two teams are easy to either love or hate.    This time, I still hated the Dodgers and their big payroll, but also disliked the Blue Jays, because I didn’t want Canada to beat the US again, as they did in hockey earlier in the year.    Whoever wins, we lose. I like so many other MLB teams.    I got spoiled over the last 20 years with rooting for teams I liked.

On Sunday, I reluctantly watched the NASCAR Cup Championship, expecting the worst.    It almost happened.    Denny Hamlin, my second most disliked driver, was about to finally cruise to his first championship.    With three laps to go, the driver I was rooting for, William Byron, blew a tire and brought out a caution.    Hamlin made the wrong choice on tires in pit lane and ended up losing to Kyle Larson.    I wasn’t even happy with the defeat.    The coverage had made sure to mention Hamlin wanted to win for his dying father.   

(Why the dislike for Denny?    He’s antagonized the fans, he’s a whiner, and he’s been overly aggressive at times.    These are sins that winning a championship will paper over.    However, he also started a race team pretty much just to give my least favorite driver, Bubba Wallace, a seat.    That one I’m not going to let go on.)

Next weekend, I still won’t have an Aggie Sports event to go to, and then too many to go to the following week.    Hopefully, I won’t be as disappointed.    Baseball related, maybe I’ll do a Hot Stove special next month.  

Baseball and Other Sports Journal September 2025 Part 6

9-27-25

Friday at work was a blur.    There was no Baseball available.    Saturday was a bunch of College Football that I watched.    I won’t go into the games here, except for mentioning that, former Aggie great, Diego Pavia, is 5-0 with Vanderbilt this season.    He had 5 touchdowns in a 55-35 win over Utah State.    He is working his way into Heisman consideration.

I will talk about the Aggie Football playing the Lobos in Albuquerque today.    There were 37k there, a near sellout, and you could hear them clearly over the radio call.    The Aggies built up a 17-14 lead at halftime.    They’d had a wide receiver pass for a touchdown and a scoop-and-score on a fumble.    The Lobos muffed a punt that gave the Aggies the ball on the Lobo 19yd line.    After a sack (Aggie quarterback Logan Fife was getting sacked a bunch), they had to settle for a 51yd field goal attempt that missed.    The defense made a late fourth down stop that gave the Aggies the ball on the Lobo 41, but gave it back on an interception.   

In the third quarter, the Lobos went for it on a fourth and eight on the 48, but an Aggie penalty gave them the first down and they tied it at 17 with a field goal.    The Lobos got a TD late in the quarter for 24-17 lead.    Crowd noise was becoming a factor on Aggie possessions, but they got a fourth quarter field goal to close it to 24-20.    Then I had to go out and walk dad’s neighbor’s dogs.    When I got back, the Lobos had scored two more touchdowns and won 38-20.    The Aggies had a couple of chances in the first half, but couldn’t convert and that was the difference (and 15 total yards rushing).   

I listened to the Miners’ game against LA Tech later in the evening.    If you thought the Aggies did badly, the Miners said, “Hold my beer.”    They lost 30-11, but it was the way they lost.    It was 7-0 LA Tech until 5 minutes left in the third quarter.    There were 9 turnovers in the game, including two interceptions by the Miners that went for touchdowns.    LA Tech scored 20 points in the fourth quarter.    It was a close game until that point.   

There was a NASCAR Xfinity Playoff race on in Kansas today.    Brandon Jones won.    Connor Zilisch came in second.    He set a record for consecutive top 5 finishes with that.    This kid . . .

Meanwhile in Baseball, I was watching the MLB.TV Free Game that was the Mets at the Marlins, though it seemed that there were a bunch of Met fans there.    The Mets won, 5-0, to keep their playoff hopes alive.    The Reds won as well, so this will come down to whatever happens tomorrow.   

On the radio in another game with playoff implications, the Indians took a 2-1 lead in the first against the Rangers.    Adolis Garcia would tie it with a solo home run in the fourth.    Unfortunately, when the sun went down, I lost the station and my nighttime station was broadcasting a football game (and even after listening for 10 minutes, I couldn’t figure out who was playing).    The Indians would win it late, 3-2.    The Tigers would keep pace with a 2-1 win over the Red Sox.    They’re both in, but it’s a question of who and where will they play.

9-28-25

It’s the last day of the Baseball season.    Where does the time go?    I took my portable radio to Aggie Soccer to listen to the final Rangers game.    I did this last year, as well (9-29-24).    Reception was kinda weak, but okay.    I was worried about having the earbuds in and the radio sitting next to me.    If I had to stand up suddenly to celebrate a goal, I’d yank the earbuds out and knock over the radio.    That turned out to not be an issue this afternoon with 2-0 Aggie loss.

Given how the Soccer went, I was glad to have the radio to listen to.    The Rangers would be playing the Indians in Cleveland.    The Indians were already in the playoffs, but this game and the Tigers’ game against the Red Sox would determine who would be playing where. While it was bright and sunny out, there were a bunch of big clouds around.    I mention this because my radio coverage would be interrupted about every 20 minutes with a weather alert.    Thankfully, none of the heavy weather was nearby.   

The Indians got two on in the first.    Alejandro Osuna robbed a three-run homer at the wall, but Jonathan Rodriguez ended up driving in two runs anyway on a hit.    2-0 Cleveland.    In the second, Osuna drove in 2 to tie it.    In the third, the Rangers scored a couple more (I couldn’t hear with the Band performing at the Soccer game) and it was 4-2 Rangers.    In the bottom, Cleveland loaded the bases and sac’d in a run to make it, 4-3.    In the fifth, the Rangers left the bases loaded, but in the sixth, Michael Hellman successfully executed a safety squeeze, and the Rangers had a 5-3 lead.

   

The Tigers ended up losing to the Red Sox.    This meant Cleveland had won the AL Central and would host the Tigers in the Wild Card series.    The announcement at the stadium caused a celebration in the crowd.    On with the game, the Indians would tie it with runs in the seventh and eighth.    We went to extras.   

Broadcaster Eric Nadel was maybe not entirely thrilled with this development in this now meaningless game, but at least it was entertaining.    Rowdy Tellez hit a pinch hit three-run homer in the top of the tenth.    In the bottom, Bo Naylor led off by singling in a run.    Brayan Rocchio, with two on, hit the foul pole for a walk off three-run homer.    Indians win 9-8 and the team celebrated with fans.

By the postgame, we learned that the Reds won and the Mets lost, which completed the playoff picture.    Apparently, just money alone won’t buy a championship to this point, as the Mets have learned.    There was an interesting observation in the Rangers’ postgame.    The broadcasters mentioned Austin Hedges, who’d been on the Rangers’ 2023 championship team, was now the cheerleader for the Indians.    His upbeat clubhouse presence was something that the Rangers lacked this season.   

Anyway, that’s it for the 2025 regular season.    I didn’t even cover a fraction of the ups, downs, and drama of the MLB season.    It’s been fun, as always.    I’ll cover what I can of the postseason.     

Baseball Journal September 2025 Part 3

9-10-25

There were a pair of day games on tap, at the same time, of course.    The Chihuahuas versus the Isotopes came on first.    The Isotopes took a 3-0 lead in the first.    There was a two-run homer to the Porch with the fielder standing directly underneath it like old Tiger Stadium.    This was followed by another two-run homer and two more runs on a single.  It was 7-0 Isotopes after an 11-batter first inning.   

Admittedly by this point, I switched over to the Rangers and the Brewers, but I’d keep up with the Chihuahuas between innings.    The score kept getting worse.    It was 10-0 after two innings, 11-0 after three innings, 12-0 after four innings, and by the sixth, it was 14-0.      

I was feeling good about my choice.    I took a nap listening to the Rangers.    When I got up, I flipped back to the Chihuahuas.    The pups had scored 7 in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it, 14-7.    Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop the Isotopes from scoring.    They gave up a run on a wild pitch, 15-7.    An error loaded the bases for the Chihuahuas in the bottom of the seventh, but they only got a run off of a sacrifice, 15-8.

The Isotopes’ kept hitting and ran up the score to 19-8 in the eighth.    Cody Roberts, the backup catcher, came in as a reliever to get the final two outs.    From broadcaster Tim Hagerty, Cody’s seriously considering a position change after his previous outing (8-30-25).    He came out again in the ninth.    The first batter switched sides of the plate mid-at bat.    He worked a walk, so it worked.    Cody then gave up a two-run homer to Sam Hilliard.    It was 21-8 Isotopes.    They scored in every inning, which is a rare feat.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Chihuahuas loaded the bases and got a couple of runs.    21-10 Isotopes was the final.    The Isotopes had 27 hits in the game.    This game started a half hour before the Rangers’ game, but finished well after.    Right after this game finished, I had to rush off to work.         

Meanwhile, the Rangers were playing the Brewers.    The Rangers had taken the first two games of the series against the MLB’s best team by record.    The announcers were looking forward to a pitcher’s duel between Merrill Kelly and Freddy Peralta.    The first two Brewer batters homered.    There was nearly a third home run shot by Christian Yelich, but he was robbed by Michael Helman in outfield.

Jake Burger, the only Ranger in the lineup with any success against Peralta, homered in the second and broke Peralta’s scoreless inning streak at 29.    2-1 Brewers.    The Rangers loaded bases the bases in the third.    A Joc Pederson fielder’s choice brought in the tying run.    Peralta balked in another run to give the Rangers a 3-2.

In the fourth, the Brewers loaded the bases.    Aggie great, Joey Ortiz, came up, but grounded out.    I had mixed feelings on that play.    However, Joey made an awesome defensive play in the bottom of the inning and earned the praise of the Ranger announcers.    In the fifth, it was Burger again with a two-run homer to make it, 5-2.

The Brewers had two on in the sixth.    Joey was lifted for pinch hitter, Rhys Hoskins, who drove in a run and chased Kelly from the game, 5-3.    In the bottom of the eighth, the Rangers loaded the bases without a hit.    Rowdy Tellez came up and got a run on an FC, 6-3.    Phil Maton locked it down in the ninth.    Appropriately, Burger made a great play to end it.    6-3 Rangers, and they completed the sweep to stay in the Wild Card race.

While I was listening to the games, I didn’t realize that there was a big news story going on.    When I got to work, I found out about the Charlie Kirk assassination.    Much of the rest of the evening, I was listening to coverage about it.    The MLB.TV Free Game was the Rays at the White Sox.    I was barely watching.    The White Sox coverage was showing awkward moments on Kiss Cam and talking about Spring Training next year.    It wasn’t a bad game, though.    There was drama in the ninth, the Sox had a one-run lead.    Their closer walked the first batter and pulled up lame.    Two more pitchers had to come in to close it out with runners on second and third.    White Sox win, 6-5.

9-11-25

I was very busy at work (seems like a theme this week) and watching Nick Fuentes’ eulogy for Charlie Kirk tonight and didn’t have much time for baseball.    The Chihuahuas beat the Isotopes in what seemed like a quick game, as opposed to the last two days.

The MLB.TV Free Game was the Rockies at the Padres.    I started watching late in the game.    In the eighth, the Rox announcer forgot the number of outs and tried to send it to the break.    The play-by-play guy said, “We play three outs in this league.”    It’s been a long season, especially for the Rockies.    It was a 2-0 Padres win.    Significantly the Rockies have yet to score yet in San Diego in four games this season.

9-12-25

The Rangers were playing the Mets tonight.    Jacob deGrom was making his first start against the Mets as a Ranger.    They gave him a video tribute there.    I think the fans also gave him a good round of applause.    I left in the first to go to Aggie Volleyball.    The Rangers were up 4-0 in the first.    They ended up scoring 6 in the inning.    deGrom worked 7 innings, giving up 3 runs, and the Rangers won, 8-3.   

I also missed a NASCAR Xfinity race at Bristol and only saw the prerace.    It was the first race of the “playoffs.”    Aric Almirola won.    Connor Zilisch finished fifth.    He was going for his fifth win in a row.

Back from Volleyball, it had rained outside while I was at the game.    It was raining in El Paso, too.    The Chihuahuas were playing the Isotopes.    In the sixth, with the Isotopes up 9-0, the rain got bad enough to bring out the tarp.    A player had slipped on the muddy infield to precipitate that (pardon the pun).    The game was official at that point and called.    Oddly, I was also getting the Albuquerque station, which was carrying the game from the Isotope point of view.

9-13-25

While I was at Aggie Volleyball yesterday, the biggest sports story in New Mexico was going on in California.    The UNM Lobos beat UCLA, 35-10.    Yes, they were playing football.    And UNM was paid over a $1M to go play them.    UCLA’s coach was fired for this loss the next day.

After I got back home from Aggie Volleyball, there were three games on the radio and an interesting College Football game on.    From keeping up with score while I was at Volleyball, I knew the Aggie Football team was losing to LA Tech.    I started listening in the fourth quarter.    The defense was holding, but when they gave it over to the offense, quarterback Logan Fife had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.    I started turning over to other games after that.    LA Tech won going away, 49-14.

The Chihuahuas were whupping up on Isotopes in El Paso.    They had a big sixth inning and went up, 11-3.    They’d go on to win, 16-3.    Yonathan Perlaza set the season RBI record for the team during the game.    Ezequiel Duran hit for cycle.    He hit a grand slam to get the home run for the cycle.    I had a co-worker who went to the game. She had a great time, though she mostly raved about the food. Her dinner sounded like a feast actually. Her and her fiancee also bought Chihuahuas Grateful Dead-themed t-shirts.

I missed the Rangers beating the Mets, 3-2, going to Volleyball.    I saw it was 2-2 in the ninth at one point checking scores.    I regret nothing going to see the girls playing volleyball, though.    The other radio game on while I was home was also a blowout.    It was 9-1 in the eighth with the Padres over the Rockies.    The final was 11-3 Padres.

The game of the night was Texas A&M at Notre Dame.    I came in in the fourth quarter and it was 40-34 ND.    However, they’d missed the extra point on a bobbled snap.    The Aggies came back downfield.    On fourth and goal on the ND ten, they made an absolutely clutch TD pass and catch.    The extra point won it, 41-40.    The coverage kept showing ND holder on goat cam.    I felt bad for the kid.    This was just like earlier in the day, when Tennessee lost to Georgia after the field goal kicker missed what would have been the game-winning kick.   

9-14-25

There were two games on the radio this afternoon, of course at the same time.    The Rangers were at the Mets.    The Rangers had taken the first two games of the series and are on enough of a winning streak that they have a chance to get into the playoffs.    The Mets were on an 8-game losing streak and about to play their way out of a playoff spot.    I chose to mostly listen this game.

Ranger starter, Jacob Latz, had traffic issues in the first two innings, but settled down.    In the fifth, after a double and a grounder that moved the runner to third, there was a grounder to Rowdy Tellez at first.    He threw home, but just missed getting the runner, 1-0 Mets.    In the sixth, Brandon Nimmo homered to make it, 2-0.

In the seventh, Joc Pederson drove in two runs to tie it, 2-2.    Adolis Garcia, back from injury, made a sliding catch to end the seventh and keep the Mets from scoring.    The Mets doubled off Ezekiel Duran on a line out for a double play to end the top of the ninth.    In the bottom, Duran made a great play to keep the Mets from scoring.    In the bottom of the tenth, Juan Soto was walked at the beginning of the inning to face Pete Alonso.    He proceeded to hit a three-run homer to win it, 5-2.    That was disappointing.

Meanwhile, the Chihuahuas were playing the Isotopes.    The pups scored 7 in first inning and I missed all of it, even though I was checking in on this game between innings.    I finally switched over to this game in the eighth.    It was 7-3, but the Isotopes scored and brought the tying run to the plate with the bases loaded.    The Chihuahuas got out of it, 7-4.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Isotopes walked the bases loaded for pups.    A hit batter brought in a run.    Clay Dungan then singled in two more runs.    During a pitching change, KROD cut out of the game and went to ESPN Radio.    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty tried to talk over it, but he was cut off.    I was about to leave for lunch, but the game came back on.    The Chihuahuas had batted around while I wasn’t able to listen and it was, 13-4.

The top of the ninth was the debut of pitcher, Maikel Miralles.    He struck out his first batter and the ball was tossed out for a keeper.    He didn’t do well after that and gave up a home run right after and then some.    Another reliever had to come in to get the final out.    Chihuahuas win, 13-8.    This was the pups’ final home game of the season.    After the game, the Chihuahuas held up a banner thanking the fans and tipped their caps to the crowd.