Sports Journal November 1, 2017

11-1-17

I feel like I’m about to summarize WWII by starting with a short discussion of the Spanish Civil War.  The tyranny of linear time, however, forces my hand.  You’ll see what I mean.  Days like today, I really question the format of this blog.  I started my evening at work with an unexpected upgrade (at least on my part), so my important viewing plans were disrupted badly in the early evening, which accounts for some spotty coverage. 

Aggie Soccer finished their season with a .500 record overall and in conference after they’d lost their last game on Saturday.  Their first game in the WAC Tournament was a rematch with Seattle U, whom they’d beaten in Seattle earlier in the month.  I was able to watch via the WAC Digital network, but other obligations kept me from watching most of it.  That was okay, as it turned out to be a 3-0 revenge-fest for the Redhawks.  I saw their last goal.  Aggie goalie Dmitri Fong was on the ground, getting kicked, while still trying to recover the ball in the box.  She made a really heroic effort.  Audrey Chavez was back and playing on what was described as an “80% hamstring.”  These girls are tough.  The hosts highlighted Aileen Galicia in the pre-game show and singled her out during the match for her good play. 

That’s all for Aggie Soccer this season.  I think the program has really improved, and I enjoyed watching them (a major admission for a non-soccer fan).  The girls are very easy to root for, especially after meeting some of them.  I’m looking forward to seeing them again next year (hopefully).  [Late update: Coach Freddy Delgado’s contract was not renewed after the season.  This is shocking given the team’s good showing this year and beating their rivals, the UNM Lobos (who were a good team) and the UTEP Miners for the first time.  Maybe he asked for a larger raise than the school could afford.  I hope the girls aren’t too upset and that a good, new coach can be found.  Good luck to Coach Delgado, unless he goes to one of our rivals.]   

 At the same time this was going on, the raison d'etat of my existence, Game 7 of the World Series between the Astros and the Dodgers, was being unwatched by myself because of work-related obligations.  The hardware upgrade was disrupting my schedule, but at least I got pizza out of it.  I got in bits and pieces at the beginning of the game.  The Astros started off well, as George Springer doubled in the first at bat of the game.  An error drove him in.  Jose Altuve drove in Alex Bregman on a fielder’s choice.  2-0 Astros.  I missed all of that. 

I did see Yuli Guriel’s at bat against Yu Darvish, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher.  Guriel’s mockery of Darvish hadn’t endeared him to the LA fans.  You could tell every time he was coming to bat just by the boo’s.  In the last game, the camera men were zooming in on angry Asian fans in the crowd.  Congrats to the MLB for not affecting World Series play with a PC suspension.  Darvish, you’re a class act.  Yuli, buy an atlas.  Japan isn’t in China.  For his part, Guriel tipped his helmet to Darvish before the at bat by way of an apology and a “thank you” for not asking for an immediate suspension.  What could have tainted this World Series, instead reinforced sportsmanship.  A 13-pitch battle ensued, which ended in a fly out.  Clayton Kershaw was already warming up in the Dodger bullpen. 

Darvish didn’t settle in after that in the second inning.  A walk, a double, and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Astros’ pitcher, Lance McCullers, added another run, but a two-run homer in Springer’s second at bat chased Darvish from the game.  5-0 Astros.  Given what had happened in the previous six games, nobody took this as a comfortable lead.  Kershaw came out to start the third.  Some ESPN Radio hosts insisted before the game that he needed to be used tonight to “save his legacy.”  Obviously this was media code for “not make us look so bad for hyping him up before the series.” 

It wasn’t exactly a great starting pitching performance on the other side.  After McCullers had hit his fourth batter of the game, he had to come out, leaving two on.  Later, he said was completely spent and was pitching with nothing working.  Brad Peacock came in and closed the inning.  The Dodgers were getting their chances, but weren’t cashing them in.  Kershaw would go four scoreless innings, thus deflecting criticism away from Darvish and on to manager Dave Roberts.  The sports media could now second guess who the Dodger starter should have been and make themselves look good for backing Kershaw all along. 

Andre Ethier came off the bench for a pinch hit single to score a run in the sixth, but that was all the damage, 5-1.  Strangely, Kenley Jansen started the seventh.  I think the rationale for bringing in the Dodger closer so early was to face the heart of the Astros’ order.  Charlie Morton came in for the Astros in the sixth.  He did a good enough job that when his spot came up in the ninth, he batted for himself.  The bottom of the ninth featured three listless at bats by the Dodgers.  No more heroics for this series.  The Dodgers were spent.  The Astros won the game 5-1 and the series 3-2. 

And . . . exhale. 

I had actually been on pins and needles since the end of last night’s game, wondering what was going to happen tonight.  After winning two of the best of World Series games ever, it would have been a shame if the Astros hadn’t won the series.  It would have been like that “Shot heard ‘round the world” footnote that the “Giants win the pennant!” but didn’t win the series.  After Game 5, I don’t know if me or anyone else could have taken another heart-stopper.  Being a fan is stressful.  It could certainly be worse.  I heard that a lot of money was bet on the Dodgers winning Game 7, including somebody making a $14 million bet.  Part of me hopes that didn’t really happen, that it was just a gag story.  Speaking of stress, my co-worker Mike somehow got blamed and yelled at by his girlfriend for the Dodger loss.  He wasn’t even watching.

There were remote shots of 17,000 people in Houston at Minute Maid Park for a viewing party, cheering their heads off.  Charlie Morton got awarded the win for the game.  He was choked up and emotional afterward.  With five home runs in the Series, George Springer was the MVP.  Carlos Beltran finally got a ring, along with fellow veterans Justin Verlander, Brian McCann, and Evan Gattis.  They can retire happy now whenever they decide they’re done.  The future still looks bright for the youngsters on the Astros.      

Then the crowning moment.  I was watching a serious Carlos Correa being interviewed on the field by Ken Rosenthal, still marveling how bad his beard looks.  Carlos said, “I want to take the next big step in my life,” and suddenly he turned to his shocked girlfriend and went down on one knee to propose.  Look at the women in the background.  That was me.  It was so romantic.  Ahhh.  The perfect ending to this World Series.

(Yeah, this is why baseball is great.  NFL players just go down on one knee on camera to protest America, and they only propose to girlfriends who can take getting slapped around.)

Sports Journal October 31, 2017

10-31-17

I need to revisit Aggie football on Saturday (10-28-17).  My co-worker, Mike, was there and brought back a story.  His girlfriend’s son had expressed some interest in going earlier in the week, but hadn’t said anything by Saturday.  As Laiza had just put a batch of brownies in the oven and they were about to settle in to watch the World Series, the boy came in and said him and his friends wanted to go to the football game.  Unpleasantness ensued, but off to the game they went.

Once there, they found out that the flyers being distributed around town were not free tickets, but rather coupons for $10 tickets.  After some more chaos because a couple of the kids lost theirs, it was $50 for them to all get in.  Not a bad price for five people, but not free.  Our place of business had offered free tickets to a couple of games earlier in the season.  I mentioned on Friday to Mike that the final home game was going to have $5 tickets, so I can understand the irritation over having to pay.  They did not see any farm animals or displays from the AG day event at the stadium.  They might have gotten there just before the game started. 

The game went well enough at first with the Aggies keeping it close or being ahead.  However as the game went on, the temperature began dropping and the wind picked up.  Having been there myself, it does get colder there than the temperature reading would indicate.  They were freezing.  Meanwhile, the boys had wandered off.  After searching around the stadium, Laiza and Mike found them behind the eastside club section, sliding down the hill there.  Mike thought that looked like fun and was about to join them, but Laiza started yelling at them to stop and to go back to their seats.  Like real Aggies fans, they left as soon as the team went down by a couple of scores late and returned home to watch the end of the baseball game. 

I was surprised that Laiza wanted to see the World Series, since she’s a boxing fan, not a baseball fan. She’s rooting on the Dodgers.  Perhaps that July Fourth trip to see the fireworks there made her a big fan.  Mike was worried about watching tonight’s game with her, since it was a possible closeout game for the Astros.  He didn’t want to bear the brunt of her wrathful disappointment. 

Yesterday morning, some ESPN Radio jerkoffs were mocking the notion that baseball is back as a popular sport.  Take a knee, guys.  (On the other hand, that was Joe Buck saying, “Baseball is back.”  Not exactly a worthwhile source.)  One of the hosts was talking about falling asleep during the game.  They spent much of their time defending Clayton Kershaw, who before the game, the sports media had been claiming was “the greatest pitcher ever.”  Now they’re calling him a playoff choker, again. 

The TV view at Dodger Stadium was not promising for Game 6 between the Dodgers and Astros, with Astros one win away from the championship.  Anywhere else, it looked like a sure rain storm was coming.  In southern California though, it only resulted in a light misting halfway through the game.  There was reportedly a section full of Astro fans there.  The announcers speculated that Dodger fans had sold their tickets.  Several celebrities and former Dodger greats were shown in the crowd.  Kate Upton was in a box.  She was there to cheer on tonight’s Astros’ starter, Justin Verlander.  Whew, boy.  Yikes.  Justin, however this series turns out, you are the winner.

While I’d be very busy with month end stuff later, early in the evening I had time to watch without much distraction.  Of course I was out of the room when George Springer got the scoring started in the third with a solo home run, 1-0 Astros.  A sponsor was giving $20K for hurricane relief for every home run.  I don’t think they knew what they were signing up for.  Verlander was looking good.  By the fourth, he had gotten his seventh strikeout. 

In the fifth, the Astros loaded the bases with two outs.  Dave Roberts took out Dodger starter, Rich Hill.  The crowd groaned in disapproval, but the Astros didn’t score.  In the sixth, the Astros got two on, but still didn’t get anyone across.  The Dodgers were now on their third pitcher.  In the bottom, Chris Taylor doubled in a run with two on, and a Corey Seager sacrifice gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

For the seventh, Verlander was lifted for a pinch hitter, while the Dodgers went to their fourth pitcher.  The Astros left two on again, but it was Joc Pederson who added to the Dodger lead in the inning with a home run, 3-1 Dodgers.  At this point, I got busy with work and actually lost track of what inning was being played.  Kenley Jansen came in as the Dodgers’ fifth and final pitcher.  He closed out the game and got the save.  3-1 Dodgers final.  The bad news for me was that the Astros lost.  The good news was that my co-worker wasn’t killed in a domestic disturbance had they won.  Anyone with a prediction for Game 7 clearly hasn’t been watching this series.  There’s no telling what’s going to happen.

Sports Journal October 29, 2017

10-29-17 

I was exhausted Sunday morning.  It must have been all of the channel switching Saturday night.  I watched the F1 race from Mexico this afternoon.  There was a massive, enthusiastic crowd there.  The grid girls were made up for Dia de los Muertos, which wasn’t an improvement.  On the grid walk, Will Buxton talked to the race promoter for Mexico and the US race in Austin.  The promoter mentioned this was NBC’s last season for F1 and genuinely thanked them for their efforts in showcasing these two races and gave Will a hug.  Will gave it back and was momentarily choked up.  It was a rather since moment in a very insincere sport.

Lewis Hamilton had all but wrapped up the championship before this race, but did manage to make it interesting as he and his nearest competitor, Sebastian Vettel, collided on the first lap.  Vettel made a frantic charge after repairs to no avail.  Hammy won his fourth championship.  Max Verstappen actually won the race.  During the race, Nico Hulkenberg was ordered to park the car immediately on track by his engineers.  He was told to get out quickly and to make sure and step on the hood before getting on the ground.  There was some malfunction with the brakes’ energy-return system which had created a dangerous charge in the car and they wanted him to be grounded before getting out.  It’s a new world in racing.          

Houston, Game 5, World Series, Astros, Dodgers.  I had a static-y radio call going for the night with the lousy TV call muted.  There was also a 10-second delay on the TV, so it was a bit of a strain watching the game, but nothing compared to the stress of the events that unfolded.  I’m still in shock the morning after this game.  After Wednesday’s “greatest World Series game,” nobody was expecting something even better to come along this weekend.  These two teams are playing just like they won over 100 games in the regular season and didn’t want to lose.  Any recap of Game 5 is going to be insufficient.  Like the battle of Clontarf between the Irish and the Vikings, its recounting cannot be trusted to historians and should instead go straight to the bards and mythologists.

This game was an obvious pitchers’ duel between staff aces, Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel.  Further, the home plate umpire (didn’t catch his name) was known for a wide strike zone.  Real wide.  Batters were complaining throughout the game, and judging by the TV strike zone, they were fully justified.  Announcers were saying this was hastening the day of the electronic strike zone.  If I was writing recaps before the event like actual sports writers, I’d have this a 0-0 tie in the ninth with Kershaw working on a 10-inning no-hitter.  

That narrative exploded in the top of the first as the Dodgers put up three runs.  Logan Forsythe drove in two of those runs with a hit.  In the fourth, Austin Barnes drove in Forsythe, who’d doubled, and this drove Keuchel from the game at 4-0 Dodgers.  On the Stadium network, they were doing a replay of last year’s Game 7 with the Cubs and Indians, but I decided to stick with this game.  It seemed all but out-of-hand for the Astros, but Kershaw showed his vulnerability in the bottom.  Carlos Correa drove in a run, then Yuli Gurriel blasted a three-run homer to tie the score at 4. 

The Dodgers came right back on a suspect Astros’ bullpen with a Cody Bellinger three-run homer to make it 7-4 in the fifth.  Kershaw had gotten two outs in the bottom, but after letting two on, he was taken out.  Speaking of suspect bullpens, Jose Altuve came up and cranked a three-run homer to the balcony in left center, 7 all.  The tension ratcheted up as George Springer in center misplayed a single which resulted in a Dodger run, 8-7. 

Springer bounced right back (mentally strangling myself for that pun) with a home run in the bottom of the seventh to tie it.  The hits continued.  Altuve doubled in Alex Bregman and Correa hit a two-run homer, 11-8 Astros.  Eighth inning, Corey Seager doubled in a run, 11-9.  In the bottom, Brian McCann homered 12-9.  Has everyone scored and hit a home run tonight?

Ooops, not Yasiel Puig.  In the ninth, he hit a two-run homer off Chris Devenski, working in his second inning.  The ball went into a section of Astros fans.  A guy grabbed it from the lady who caught it and threw it back, as the other fans tried to restrain him.  Turned out it was her brother-in-law.  She said she was going to throw it back anyway.  Barnes doubled.  Down to their last strike, Chris Taylor singled him in to tie the game at 12.  Kenley Jansen came in for the bottom and gave up a double Gurriel, but he was left stranded. 

By this point, you could see the capacity crowd in Houston was exhausted.  It was after midnight there and they’d been put through an emotional wringer.  The players themselves had to be operating on sheer will.  Joe Musgrove worked a scoreless top of the tenth.  With two outs in the bottom of the tenth, Jansen hit McCann to put him on and a walk moved him to second.  At this point, Derek Fisher was put in as a pinch runner for McCann.  This put the Astros in a real spot, as their backup catcher was their DH.  This was going to cause problems if the game continued past this inning.  Alex Bregman hit a swallow single to center.  Fisher went flat out with the pitch, around third, and slide uncontested into home.  After five hours and 17 minutes, Astros win 13-12.  Scream, cheer, cry, collapse, do whatever seems appropriate to you, it was over.

In a post-game interview, Bregman put the turning point of the game in the fourth.  The infielders gathered behind the mound and just told each other to “Play loose.”  Incomprehensibly with the events following that advice, they were playing like they’d already lost and were just trying to have fun.  I suspect after they’d tied the score, things got more serious.  He finished the interview shouting out, “How about Houston!” to acknowledge the fans and the city.  During the post-game, a crowd of insane fans were shouting out, “Beat LA!”  I should try to analyze this game, but no way!  We’re going to wait until after the series to try and make sense of this, if that can even happen.             

Sports Journal October 28, 2017

10-28-17

I’m having some mixed feelings this morning.  I went to a free comic book giveaway at Zia Comics for Halloween.  There were kids there in costume and some games and candy for them.  One of the giveaways I got was an Archie Sabrina comic.  When I got it home, even with the “Horror” label on it, I was actually horrified by the contents.  I haven’t read it yet, but it looked really disturbing and NOT kid-friendly.  I also picked up a Thor (tellingly it was an 80’s reprint, the current versions of “Thor” are an f-ing mess) and a Donald Duck on the giveaway table.  I bought an Adam Hughes’ Betty & Veronica comic and a Rick and Morty trade.  R&M is my new favorite show that I’ve been watching on some Youtube livestreams.  Their comics were put in the Kid’s section.  I’ll wait for you to stop coughing in shock.  The comic doesn’t seem to be quite as urbane (and profane) as the cartoon, but still not really appropriate for children.  So, this was a $25 trip for some weird free comics. 

While out, I decided to swing by Aggie sports sponsor, Sports Accessories.  I was hoping to find a Women’s Basketball championship t-shirt for their “3 Pete” performance.  It was there, but unlike the last championship shirt I got there for $2 on the clearance table, this one was full price.  (There wasn’t even a clearance table anymore).  I also finally found the Aggie hat I’d been looking for the last two years.  Why couldn’t I have found this three Aggie hats ago that I’d already purchased?  It’s just the crimson and black baseball team hat.  Attractive, but nothing special.  So, this ended up being a $50 drop here, but I did get what I wanted.  I did get to tell the clerk how well the “Aggie Empire” shirt I’d bought there last year had gone over every time I’d worn it.  They were out, but were going to get more.  It was a best-seller for them.  I think my best deal today was my $5 Wendy’s meal coupon with the $1 Frosty I added to it. 

In the evening, we had a bit of a scheduling conflict.  Aggie football was playing on the radio and TV, while the World Series was on another station.  The radio pre-game before football was interesting, as usual, as Jack Nixon chatted with Athletic Director Mario Moccia and other Aggie coaches.  Mario was fully burning bridges with the Sunbelt Conference for scheduling the Aggies for one home game over the course of two months.  He was not happy and glad to be leaving the conference.  In spite their best marketing efforts, this probably drove down attendance for tonight.  That was too bad.  It was “AG” Day at the stadium.  The local radio station was doing a remote from there before the pre-game, where there were displays of farm equipment and animals.  The university also hosted the WAC Cross Country championship this morning.  The Aggie Women’s team won.  Congratulations.

There was a talk with a couple of coaches, who weren’t on the Aggie Coaches Show earlier this week.  Freddy Delgado of the soccer team, mentioned that the team has three of the best attackers in the conference, so he is able to keep more players back on defense.  Interesting.  Volleyball coach, Mike Jordan, attended the “Zombie Walk” this week with his little son, who was appropriately frightened.  Coach Jordan sounds a lot more reasonable talking to Jack between games than he does talking to Adam Young right after a match.  The volleyball team was reported as winning earlier in the day.  I never heard an update on the evening soccer match on the road, which was going on at the same time.

Game 4 of the World Series between the Astros and Dodgers had some annoying audio glitch with the network, which I identified as Joe Buck and John Smoltz.  I kept the sound off.  Both offenses took much of the game off, so I stayed with the football.  The Aggie football was playing the Arkansas State Red Wolves, who have won the conference the last two years.  The first quarter was a very defensive battle between both teams.  The Red Wolves scored a touchdown for a 7-0 lead.  In the second, a fumble led to a Larry Rose III rushing drive that tied the score.  In the final minute, Aggie wide receiver Jaleel Scott made a highlight reel catch.  The ball went 30 yards downfield into double coverage, went through the arms of one defender, and right into Jaleel’s breadbasket.  The Aggies scored for a 14-7 lead at the half.  Significantly, Arkansas State had 12 penalties in the half.  The Aggies had one, but it resulted in an ejection. 

Meanwhile in Houston, it was still scoreless in the sixth.  Alex Wood on the Dodgers had a no hitter going.  Charlie Morton on the Astros was also doing well.  In the top of the inning, Alex Bregman cut down a runner at home, trying to score from third on a grounder.  Other teams need to stop hitting the ball to him in those situations.  In the bottom, George Springer bashed a solo home run, driving Wood from the game, 1-0 Astros.  It was the only hit he gave up.  Morton came out in the seventh after giving up a double.  A Dodger run would score, tying the game.  Hey, Houston has cheerleaders dancing on top of the dugout.

In the third quarter in Las Cruces, the Red Wolves scored a field goal and a touchdown to take a 17-14 lead.  The Arkansas State defense turned it up.  They got an interception after getting two sacks in a row.  Aggie Shamad Lomax returned the favor to kill their drive.  An ensuing punt and big run back gave the Red Wolves good field position, but they missed the field goal to convert on it.  The Aggies mounted a good drive downfield.  In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, quarterback Tyler Rogers took it in for a touchdown on a keeper, 21-17 Aggies.      

Here, my evening took a downward turn.  Arkansas State got ball back and quickly marched downfield on an exhausted Aggie defense.  24-21 AR State after a touchdown.  Back in Houston, Ken Giles had entered the game for the Astros and immediately let on two runners.  One hit later, it was 2-1 Dodgers.  The Red Wolves scored again, then had an interception and a long run back, which led to another touchdown.  The Astros brought in another pitcher which only added gas to the fire.  Joc Pederson capped a five-run inning with a three-run homer.

The football game dragged on to an enviable conclusion, 37-21 Red Wolves.  Tyler Rogers was having some real problems hitting the receivers tonight, more than just facing a good defense.  I wonder if he has a hand or arm injury.  The running game worked for a bit, but the Aggies went away from it.  The defense was great, but ran out of gas by the fourth since they were out on field for so much of the game.  Alex Bregman hit a solo home run off of Kenley Jansen in the bottom of the ninth, but there was no further comeback.  At least the Astros can get to him.  The Dodgers won 6-2 to even the series.  Ken Giles is certainly done as Houston’s closer.  The Astros’ offense just turns on and off like a light switch.  Today, they were off.  Unlike the morning, there were no mixed feelings here.  This was a depressing.  

Sports Journal October 27, 2017

10-27-27

World Series Game 3 with the Astros and the Dodgers tied at one apiece.  I’m doing a bad job of following the playoffs.  It’s conflicting with work during the week.  I need to get my priorities in order; baseball, then work.  This recap will be brief.  Though Yu Darvish had pitched plenty of times in Houston, he didn’t have it tonight and got an early hook after just 1 2/3 innings and four earned runs.  I’m rooting for the Astros, but I did want Darvish to have a good showing.  On the other side, Brad Peacock took over for Lance McCullers in the sixth and finished out the game.  He allowed two inherited runs to score, but was otherwise tremendous in the Astros’ 5-3 win.  In an interview after, Brad seemed like a really good guy and was happy and grateful for the team’s win.  Also after the game, Alex Rodriguez got some ribbing from the other guys, as his girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, was sitting off to the side of the set.

I had a bit of an epiphany to add to my discussion on Moneyball (8-23-17).  Billy Beane felt that his strategy for play was vindicated over the course of a long season, but in a short series (the playoffs), it wasn’t a large enough sample size to play out to his team’s advantage.  There’s a small flaw in that reasoning.  Over the course of a season (a large sample), you’re playing a bunch of bad and mediocre teams, who tend to get worse as the season goes on.  In the playoffs, you’re just playing the good teams, who you likely played .500 ball against during the season.  In a sense, he’s right that his style of play will beat lesser teams consistently, but against teams with more quality players playing a more fundamental style, they’re not any better than a coin flip.

I do have some in depth sports coverage today.  We’re covering Women’s college soccer again!  And it is the Aggies, albeit the Utah State Aggies (USA!  USA!) versus the Boise State Broncos.  It was a Friday afternoon and I didn’t have anything else to do and didn’t want to start a book.  Flipping around before the match, F1 practice in Mexico City was being broadcast.  The stadium at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was mostly filled with enthusiastic fans just to watch the practice session.  Really, they showed plenty of shots of the happy crowd.  Having seen it a few years ago, I’m still amazed by the job that was done cleaning up the track.  It’s a showplace.

Speaking of scenic views, the soccer pitch in Logan, Utah, looks like it’s just a couple of miles from the mountains that form a backdrop for the field.  The surrounding trees were in full autumn colors.  It was a beautiful, sunny 60 degree day there.  The announcers were however worried about tomorrow night’s football game (real football, not futbol, and no kneeling SOB’s), where the temperature was going to be in the 30’s.  There was also a big, gray pyramid next door.  I wonder what that houses? 

The TV coverage was better than the other matches I’ve seen in the Mountain West coverage, as they had a couple of field-level cameras for close-ups.  There wasn’t a shot of the grandstand to see the crowd, but the announcers said it was good.  Boise State even had a contingent present that were in town for the football game.  Students were lounging on a grassy knoll at one end by the video board.  It looked very pleasant.    

Like the NMSU Aggie Volleyball team does sometimes, the US Aggies (I’m kind of loving this abbreviation) threw little balls into the crowd after introductions.  They had held their Senior Day ceremonies before the match.  The two, probably student, announcers were very knowledgeable, though one showed up late and then left suddenly.  Another student stepped in for him.  He did a good job, but he apparently mainly called their volleyball team games, so the players there were confusing him a bit.  I appreciated his honesty while commenting when he said, “I lost my train of thought watching that play develop.”  The other guy had met one of the girls off the field, and she had asked him to just call her on field by her first name. 

The US Aggies were potentially playing their final game of the season unless they could win or tie, but were playing the high-powered offense of the Broncos, who have been averaging two goals a match.  (High-powered offense = two goals in soccer.  I’m having too much fun writing this.)  In the 14’, the US Aggies took a 1-0 lead on left-footed roller into the goal.  The Bronco goalie really laid out to stop it and ended up coming out with an injury.  One minute later, the Broncos responded with a solo attack that caught the Aggies in a one-on-one, which resulted in a tying goal.

The US Aggies kept up on the offensive.  The new Bronco goalie was tested, having to make a jump tip save at 27’ and another good save on a free kick at 37’.  The Aggies had the ball in the Boise State end for most of the half, but the Broncos made the most of their chances.  In the 40’, they got a goal with a pass to a header that made the score 2-1 Broncos, which they took into halftime.  There were some pre-recorded interviews with the US Aggies, who were asked about the school.  The word that came up for all of them was “family.”        

Unfortunately, I had to finally go to work by this point.  The Utah State Soccer Twitter feed later reported the final as 2-1 Boise State, so I didn’t probably miss much.  They thanked their fans for their support during the season.  I’m going to say from my uneducated viewing, that these teams were probably playing a bit of a higher level than the NMSU Aggies and most of the WAC (though the Aggies did beat the Lobos, who I think are a pretty good team in the Mountain West).  Frankly, our girls are prettier, so I’d rather watch them.        

Sports Journal October 25-26, 2017

10-25-17

“It’s In-N-Out Burger versus What-a-burger,” said Sal Montes on KROD’s Sports Talk.  It’s the World Series between the LA Dodgers and the Houston Astros.  I’m only a day late in covering this.  Dodgers won Game 1, 3-1, behind Clayton Kershaw in a two and half-hour game.  Yeah, never mind that.  Today’s game was THE Game.

Heck, let’s just pick it up where it got interesting.  It was the top of the ninth with Dodgers up 3-2.  Kenley Jansen was starting his second inning of work.  Marwin Gonzalez greeted him with a tying home run.  So much for the automatic save machine.  In the tenth, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa started the inning with back-to-back home runs.  Alright!  Ooops, not so fast.  In the bottom, Yasiel Puig homered and Kike Hernandez singled in Logan Forsythe to tie it again.  Justin Verlander came out of the training room to yell at the team in the dugout to tell them that it wasn’t over.  George Springer heard him and put the Astros up with a two-run homer in the eleventh.  In the bottom, Charlie Culberson hit a solo home run to give Puig a chance to come up tie it again.  Finally though, the baseball gods were satisfied with contest (and wanted to get to bed).  Puig struck out to end it. 

7-6 Astros win, but I’d like to think everyone watching was a winner, even at over four hours.  Lucky for Dave Roberts this didn’t go 12.  The Dodger manager was out of pitchers and bench players.  The eight home runs in the game were impressive (especially in a “pitcher’s park” in LA), but five of them occurred in extra innings.  That last bit had never happened before in baseball game.  Holy crap!          

10-26-17

I got to watch the Aggie Volleyball team play the UMKC Roo’s on the road tonight thanks to WAC Digital Network.  I finally got it to work for me.  We’ll start with a quick game recap.  The Aggies took the match 3-0.  They won 25-17 in Set 1.  It was close about halfway through before the Aggies pulled away.  The Aggies went up by 8 early in Set 2, but the Roos came back something fierce.  The Aggies pulled it out 25-20, pretty much riding on their early lead.  The Aggies weren’t seriously challenged in Set 3 and won 25-17.  Kiley Tonge made, I think, her debut in a game and served for match point.

KC Tohm led the way with 14 kills.  Megan Hart had 6 kills and 6 blocks.  Let’s hear it for Canada!  (They’re both from Canada.)  Kaylee Neal and Ari Sierra divided up most of the kills.  Bridgette Lowe also played quite a bit.  I didn’t see the injured players on the trip, which is likely a practical decision.  Coach Jordan said the team was “Doing it with smoke and mirrors.”  He’s not giving himself enough credit for his recruiting and practice regimen.  He’s had some good players sitting on the bench.  Injuries have forced the coach to use some these girls, maybe before or more than he wanted.  They’ve had growing pains, but their inherent talent and lots of training has eventually come through.  

The Roos’ announcer, pleasant fellow, thought highly of the Aggies, though aware of their poor record in five-set matches.  He was in awe of a couple of kills by KC and Megan and a dig by Ari.  “Are we giving away free clothes today?  Where’s mine?”  A live mic left unattended was picking up a girl staff member during halftime to my amusement.  They held a Halloween costume contest during that time.

The Roos play in a gym, like probably nearly every other college volleyball team.  It looked like they were playing in a walk-in closet compared to the Pan-Am Center.  It has to be quite a disconnect between playing at home and on the road for the Aggies.  I suspect visiting opponents must love playing in an arena (with a bit of trepidation).  The camera view didn’t give any sense of the size of the crowd for UMKC.  The break music was depressingly the same as here in Las Cruces.  After the match, the Roos left the court for the locker rooms immediately, which surprised me.  The Aggies always hang around the court and meet with various fans, boosters, kids, and family members after a match.  Even here, they met out on court for a team meeting after playing.      

The blonde on the right in the black jacket is Hannah Combs.  This picture was taken right after the match where she got hurt.  I can’t believe she could work up a smile after that fall and scream.  These girls are tough.

Meanwhile, it was a bloody day for coaches in the MLB.  Joe Girardi was canned by the Yankees for not making a replay challenge three weeks ago and for only winning one championship during his tenure.  The Yankees have high standards (and want to get somebody cheaper, since they’ve got enough great players to where they don’t think they need good managing).  In Chicago, the Cubs let go off all of their coaches, except for Joe Maddon.  Firing those coaches isn’t going to make your starting pitchers any younger.  

NM State Aggies vs UMKC Roos Soccer 10-22-17

Let me start off with this.  I heard Mario Moccia say this on the Aggie Coaches Show, but it didn’t register until a couple of days later.  The Aggies have swept the UTEP Miners and UNM Lobos in volleyball, soccer, and football this season.  That’s kind of impressive.  Even more so, on Friday Aggie Soccer beat Chicago State on the road 8-0.  Yes, that score is correct.  I doubt they scored that many goals in practice before the match.  Attendance for that game was listed at 44.  I actually feel bad for Chicago State.  Their university is having much bigger problems than low turnout at sporting events. 

Before that, the girls won at Seattle U.  That team hadn’t lost at home in three years and the Aggies had never beaten them.  Coach Freddy Delgado was a bit confused by the players’ nonplussed attitude about the win (compared to beating UTEP and UNM).  He quoted an unnamed player’s response, “Well coach, we expected to win.”    

It was a perfect day to be outside, sunny, not too hot, and a clear blue sky.  Unfortunately, this contest against the UMKC Roos was the final home game for the soccer team and Senior Day.  (And probably my last outdoor event for the year, unless I get invited to an Aggie football game.)  The numbers 13, 16, and 27 were painted out on field for ceremonies later.  The crowd seemed okay for the match.  I might have been expecting more for the occasion.  There were a group of tailgaters in the parking lot though. 

Marty came in late during the first half.  The girls had texted her after winning in Chicago and told her to come out for today’s game.  (Talk about fan-outreach.)  Unfortunately, they may have been on Central Time at the time and given her the wrong start time.  Danny was also already there and I sat with them.  There were some people behind us giving at times droll commentary on the match.  After a few bored missives from them, I almost missed hearing Angry Mom and Angry Dad yelling to “Shoot it!” and “Make space!” 

The Old Man was out cheering up a storm throughout the match.  The baseball guys were down in front of the stands.  There was a girl with them who did a lot of cheering in the second half.  She brought megaphone, so there was some serious cheering going on.  A few members of the volleyball team walked by in a couple of groups.  I’d hoped to see them walk by again to congratulate them on yesterday’s win, but they never came back by.  The gorgeous woman from the last match made a reappearance in the second half.  Unfortunately, I only got see her once (and have my heart stopped in the process).  I really do wonder why she was at the game.        

The team spilled out from the locker room on to the field full of enthusiasm.  They had a team of little girls attending them for introductions.  I didn’t recognize a couple of the starters.  I did notice Audriana “Audrey” Chavez wasn’t in, so she was still injured.  I saw a co-worker appear down in front shooting the introduction and said a quick “Hello,” to her.  Her daughter was out there with the little girls.  (Said co-worker hates me, which is NOT how I feel about her.  I was trying to be polite.)  There was even a live Anthem for today’s match as well.         

First Half

I hate to put in the spoilers right up, but this match reminded me of how great Dmitri Fong is in goal.  By way of this, most of my notes here seem to consist of her stopping shot after shot.  To avoid being too tedious, I’ll just highlight the best saves.  I hope I wasn’t just totally playing favorites while writing notes during the match on offense and defense.  Sometimes events on the far side of the field are a mystery as to who the participants are.  I do pay more attention to some players more than others based on what they’ve done before and how much I’ve seen them.   

The Aggies started off on the attack in the first minute and got a corner kick.  They kept up the pressure for about the first 20 minutes.  29’ left in the half, Aileen Galicia made a solo attack that had a chance to squirt in.  24’ Devin Hart made a crossing pass to Aileen, who made a shot that forced a save.  [Note to self for next year, write down who the opposing goalie is during the introductions.]  21’ Aileen made great steal and fired a crossing pass, but unfortunately no one was following her attack.  18’ Aileen got off a shot in front of the Roo goal, but it went wide.

It was also a physical contest.  27’ on the far side of the field, I caught the end of an altercation between an Aggie and a Roo, which ended in the UMKC player getting pushed down.  That was all the referee saw too, as he issued a yellow card.  The crowd went into an uproar as the Aggie player had been grabbed and held beforehand.  23’ Aileen was leveled.  This got the crowd going too.  19’ two girls took each other out.

I tried not to look at the program, because I didn’t want to know what the other team’s record was, but about halfway through I saw it while looking for something else.  Like Schrödinger’s Box, once I looked inside, the quantum indeterminacy of the quality of our opponent was revealed.  The Roos were undefeated in the WAC, which I’d guess would put them in first.  I hope my glance wasn’t the cause of them taking the offensive for the rest of the half.

20’ Dmitri caught a hard shot.  13’ a great jump and tip save.  This was followed by a catch on a corner kick.  Dmitri got off a long kick immediately after that led to an attack on the Roo net.  11’ another Roo corner, but this one found a header in front of the Aggie goal that went in.  0-1 Roos.  I didn’t get the scoring player’s name at the time, but the paper identified her as Hayden Burnett.  The PA just sort of muttered it in disappointment.  Calls came from the stands for “Fresh legs!” 

6’ the Aggies had a corner kick that was broken up.  Dmitri stopped a couple more shots, including a dive stop at 2’.  In the final minute, Kelly Burton hit the crossbar on the Roos’ goal.  Rebecca Mazzie took a final shot that also went high.  The Aggie bench was screaming in support during that last flurry of activity.    

          

Halftime

There was a contest that involved kicking and throwing a ball down the field.  They probably needed more than two participants to really make a spectacle out of it.  The baseball players played some hacky sack with a soccer ball in front of the stands.  They were pretty good.  The Old Man, instead of moving to the other end of the field as he usually does, plopped down next to the ball players in front of the grandstand.  A cute red head girl laid out on the Pistol Pete logo on field to get her picture taken.  And a kid walked by wearing a luchadore mask.

Danny chatted with the Old Man during the break and brought back news about the Aggie Women’s Basketball team.  They had had an open practice before yesterday’s volleyball game.  Hey, I checked their Twitter feed Friday night.  They didn’t say anything about it.  I might have gone early.  (Yeah, right.  I had trouble getting there at 11:00 am.)  The team looked good and the new coach, Brooke Atkinson, ran a tight ship.  I wonder how Brooke Salas and the new coach are getting along, since she seemed so close to Coach Trakh.  I’m sure the two coaches are pretty different in personal style, though Coach Atkinson wasn’t changing team’s style of play.  Danny and I both agreed that losing Ashley Ford and Blanche Alverson as assistant coaches was going be a terrible loss to our viewing enjoyment.      

The commentators behind me told a funny story about a kid soccer match.  Before playing, the coach yelled out to his team, “Who are we!”  The team answered back, “Arsenal!”  “Who are we!”  “Arsenal!”  “Who are we!”  “Arsenal!”  Somebody on the other team yelled out, “Are you sure!”  Even referees laughed. 

Second Half

The Roos did not rest on a one goal lead.  The ball spent most of the half in the Aggie end.  I haven’t seen all of their games and I’m no expert, but this might have been the Aggies’ finest defensive half of the year.  In the first minute, Dmitri had to stop a point blank shot.  Thankfully, it was a weak one.  After another stop a couple of minutes later, the Aggies got a corner at 40’, which was cleared out. 

What followed seemed must have seemed like an eternity for the defenders.  36’ Cristina Bertoldo broke up an attack and started a breakaway.  34’ Kelly Burton broke up a potential one-on-one breakaway coming for the net.  33’ Cristina stripped a girl in front of the Aggie box and started another rush downfield.  This one lead to Aileen taking a shot that went high.  She came away holding her jaw like she’d taken a shot to the mouth, which is entirely possible. 

31’ Cristina got another steal.  29’ Dmitri made another jumping tip save.  27’ with some great effort, Aileen got in another shot that again went high.  25’ there was a great pass to Aileen, but she was tackled in the box to end the threat.  19’ there was a foul called right above the Aggie box.  The crowd was angry, and Dmitri may have yelled at the ref as well.  She managed to push out a free kick that went over the player wall. 

18’ Dmitri made a two-handed grab on a corner kick.  The Old Man started up a chant here.  The baseball players even joined in.  14’ Cristina kicked one out of the box on another one-on-one attack.  13’ Dmitri came out to stop a shot.  7’ Cristina took the ball again and started charging downfield, probably in sheer frustration.  She got well past midfield before passing it.  As a senior, she was definitely playing like this was her last home game in her hometown. 

6’ Dmitri came out to stop another shot.  I’m underselling her effort here.  There were more saves.  Devin came in late.  She may have been out for most of the half.  5’ she made a way offsides pass to Aileen.  Again, this was likely a move made in frustration.  2’ Aileen finally had a good chance in the box, but was thwarted from getting off the shot.  That was all as time expired.  Roos 1, Aggies 0 final.   

Let’s sum up this match quickly: Roos 13 shots on goal, Aggies 2.  Losing this game by one goal was a minor miracle just based on that.  Most of those Roo shots weren’t easy stops either and those shots don’t even include defensive plays that broke up rushes that almost certainly would have resulted in a goal.  That said, it’s hard to come away from this game feeling totally defeated or embarrassed.  UMKC is a very good team.  They tenaciously hung to one goal lead and never let up on the attack.  The Roos likely didn’t even make any glaring mistakes on offense or defense.  The Aggies were lacking some offense, but otherwise played just as tough and smart, never let the game get out of hand, and made the Roos earn their victory. 

After the match, the girls came out to midfield and waved to the crowd.  The fans gave them a hearty round of applause for their efforts this afternoon.  After a little stretching, the girls lined up for the Senior Day ceremonies for Danielle Smith, Cristina Bertoldo, and Devin Hart.  The PA read off each of the girls’ accomplishments, then Coach Delgado gave his own comments about them, choking up a bit.  Each of the girls spoke to the crowd as well.  Danielle had a funny and touching prepared statement.  “Hi, I’m Cristina Bertoldo,” started Cristina to a large contingent of friends and family.  She seemed to feeling ecstatic and overwhelmed with sadness at the same time.  She was named as the team captain.  What was said about Devin’s comeback from injuries to lead the team in goals this season and pushing her teammates in training was impressive.    

Afterward, the PA told the fans to come on down and meet the girls.  From the Coach to the PA to seeing the girls’ outreach in the community, the Aggie Soccer program uniformly encourages fans to meet the players.  This is a good strategy since these young women really are the best part of the sport.  I went down with Marty, who was eager to see her young friends.  I saw Dmitri crossing the field.  I really wanted to talk to her, but she was intercepted by her parents.  I did get to wave at her and congratulate her on a great game. 

We came up on a knot of players with Amy Gulczynski, Jody Hernandez, and Aileen Galicia.  They all knew Marty by name.  The lady makes a good impression on people.  Tuti Tirado came by and I think she still remembered me.  I asked how her family was doing in Puerto Rico.  She said they were fine and she was planning a visit soon.  Tuti has may have the brightest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. 

I got to talk to Aileen about the game for a moment.  I asked about Audrey, who I didn’t see at all today, and about Devin, who had a quiet game and I noticed she was gimpy after the match.  They were injured, but they should both be back for the next games.  Aileen was looking forward to a rematch with their offense at full strength.  She was a bit frustrated today.  She’d been told to wait for numbers when she had the ball, but “I was getting swarmed three to one holding on to it.”  The girls I saw didn’t seem discouraged or mad at all about the result.  The match was almost an affirmation that they are a good team. 

We said our goodbyes.  Aileen gave Marty a hug.  I was going to shake her hand, but she put her arms around me and gave me a big hug too.

 

❤❤ Wow! ❤❤

As fiercely as her passion burns in competition, Aileen’s heart is still warm and tender.  I wonder if I was blushing afterward.  Sigh. 

We did find Cristina before leaving the field.  She was as bubbly and pleasant as ever, as I congratulated her on her great effort today.  I did ask about her rush downfield.  She asked if I saw her sister-in-law, who I used to work with.  I saw her and her new baby, but wasn’t able to say “Hello.”  I’d hoped to see Devin before leaving, but missed her on the field.  Outside the stadium, we found the some of the Roos team sitting on the curb, waiting for their bus.  “Oh my God, they left you guys behind!”  We did congratulate them on a good game.  They looked like a nice bunch of girls.  

I’m sure I’m not qualified to sum up the Aggies’ season (which isn’t over).  I missed the program’s two biggest wins this season (Miners and Lobos) and still regret not going to the Scrimmage before that.  What I can say from what I’ve seen is that this program has definitely taken a big step forward over last year and probably all of the preceding years.  This has mostly been thanks to some great goaltending from Dmitri and general defense.  Recruiting more offense seems like a must.  Too many attacks have consisted of Aileen running down the field by herself.  She doesn’t need to slow down; she needs teammates who can keep up.  I don’t know enough soccer strategy to suggest anything more technical. 

    

Weird, last year I’m not even sure why I went to a match and was nearly done with going by the end of the season.  This year I came back only because they’d won their final home game (10-29-16), which really lifted me up after a hard volleyball loss that morning.  As much as I’ve generally enjoyed the games this year, I’m still not a soccer fan.  I am a fan of the Aggies and these girls.  I’ve developed a deeper appreciation of the players from watching them live and up close.  Okay, I’ll be back next year if I’m able.