Sports Journal September 24-30, 2018

9-24-18

        

Today’s MLB.TV free game was a big playoff implications matchup between the Brewers and the Cardinals in front of a full house in St. Louis.  To start the game, Brewer manager Craig Counsel changed pitchers after the first batter.  I had heard a couple of years ago that celebrity personality (I don’t know what else to call him) Kato Kaelin was a big Brewers fan and routinely wears out Counsel on his Twitter feed.  This seemed like a moment that would elicit a comment, so I checked out his feed.  Nothing yet.  He’s apparently at a sci-fi convention.  I kept the feed up, waiting to see what would develop.

In the meantime, Ryan Braun homered in the second and Matt Carpenter drove in a run in the third, so we were tied at 1.  In the sixth, Braun walked with bases loaded and Mike Moustakas hit a sac fly to make it 3-1 Brewers.  In the bottom, Brewer ace reliever Josh Hader came in.  Jose Martinez immediately homered off him.  With a light rain falling, Marcel Ozuna followed that with a two-run homer and came out for a curtain call. 4-3 Cardinals.

Oh, there’s a new tweet from Kato.

Quit talking how great Hader is- HE SUCKS RIGHT NOW & PROBABLY BLOWN THE SEASON. Hader is OWNED by @Cardinals & they’re in his HEAD. Hader GET OFF THE MOUND. Counsel WHY IS HE STILL IN? @Brewers SUCK & 3-1 was 2 good 2 b TRUE. PURE VOMIT SQUAD

Okay, they weren’t kidding about him and the Brewers and Counsel.  (I’m still chuckling actually.  Twitter text at its finest.)  My Aunt Judy in Missouri had written me earlier.  I wrote back and said I was watching the Cardinals (she’s a big fan) and included the tweet.  She asked, “Who’s Kato?”  (He was a witness at the OJ Simpson trial.  I know it’s been a long time.)  He would continue firing off tweets for any bad plays by the team for the rest of the game.

In the seventh, Christian Yelich got an RBI on a fielder’s choice to make it 4-4.  The Cardinals’ play-by-play guy I was listening to sounded like Matt Vasgersian, but with Joe Buck’s brain.  Every time Yelich came up, he mentioned that he was an NL MVP candidate.  We heard you the first time, sir.  Do you not know anything else about him?  #showprep  

The rain finally got heavy enough to cause a short delay.  Back from the break in the eighth,

Moustakas was hit on a pickoff throw to first.  Eric Thames scored from third to make it 5-4 Brewers.  The inning apparently ended after a fielder’s choice caught a runner in a rundown at home.  The runner on first got picked off right after for the third out.  However, the home plate ump had called time after the run down, so the inning continued.  The passionate (though diminished after the delay) crowd was really unhappy about that call.  I’m sure they all tweeted about it.  (Kato had complained earlier about only getting one run with the bases loaded.)

 

In the ninth, Yelich (NL MVP candidate) doubled in Lorenzo Cain to make it 6-4 Brewers, which would be the final score.  The crowd and the announcers expressed their displeasure with the home plate ump.  They did not like his strike zone in the bottom of the ninth.

And Kato says:

It’s NEVER ez 2 WIN! I need 3 more @ZantacOTC @Brewers

9-25-18

I had the TV in the break room on at work on to watch The Gifted.  It’s an interesting show, essentially X-Men without the X-Men.  I’m not sure about Season 2 though.  They seem to have eliminated the human elements of the cast to just focus on the mutants.  I thought the intimate look at the contrast between the humans and the mutants made the show somewhat fascinating.  I’ve made a post mentioning The Gifted before, (12-26-27).

As long as the TV was on, I flipped over to the MLB Network.  I wasn’t entirely expecting a game, but they were showing the Rockies and the Phillies.  Not only does this game have playoff implications, I’m pretty sure they usually blackout Rockies’ games in my area.  I kept the game on and checked in on it, though I wasn’t really able to sit and watch.

There was a big passionate crowd there in Denver.  Trevor Story was back in the lineup.  The Rockies were having a bullpen day.  In the third, I think they were already on their third pitcher.  They ended up using eight in total.  Ah, September call-up baseball.  By halfway through the game, the Rockies had built up a pretty good lead, but every time a pitcher got in trouble, he got yanked.  In the eighth, it was 10-3, but when the bases were loaded with Phillies, in came a new pitcher.  The announcers were even nervous, until a double play ended the inning.

The Rox won by that 10-3 score and moved ahead of St. Louis, who lost tonight.  David Dahl had four RBI’s, including a home run, which a fan caught over the fence, just over the leaping fielder.  The guys in the booth were attentively scoreboard-watching a couple of other meaningful games and giving updates.  They were also having a generally good time as the Rockies pulled ahead.  They even teased the attractive female ballpark reporter.  She admitted that one of them had once almost convinced her that he used to be a doctor.  (I’m actually chuckling writing this.)

While at my other work stations, I listened to KMOX out of St. Louis over the Internet.  They’ve been broadcasting Blues pre-season hockey.  I just randomly stumbled into the coverage; I wasn’t looking for it.  I kind of enjoy the guys calling it, an older veteran play-by-play guy and a younger former player.  They have a good chemistry.  The color guy even gives blow-by-blow hockey fight coverage like a boxing commentator.  Anyway, even they were watching the Cardinals’ game going on nearby and giving updates.      

The MLB.TV free game was one of the other meaningful games, the Dodgers versus the Diamondbacks.  The game video was blacked out, but the radio call with Greg Schulte was on.  Also, the game was on cable here on FOX Sports Arizona.  I had both on, though I was busy and didn’t pay close attention to either.  I did hear Greg actually hoping to help out the Rockies tonight when he found out they’d won.   

This was a really tight game.  Though the D-Backs have been eliminated, they were playing it like a playoff game.  The Dodgers were playing very clutch as well and managed to tie the score in the eighth when they were down a run.  It sounded like they brought their fans to Phoenix too.  Both teams seemed to be getting equal cheering.  It must have been nice there too, since the roof and panels were open.  In the bottom of the ninth, Eduardo Escobar ended it on a walkoff home run for a 4-3 Arizona victory.  This may all go down to the final day of the season.  Thanks to the MLB for showing some meaningful games this week.

9-26-18

 

I was super busy at work and missed the free game, which didn’t have anything to do with the playoffs anyway.  The Brewers and Cubs both clinched, though their positions haven’t been determined.  The Rockies won and the Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers again.  It’s crunch time indeed. 

9-27-18

I took the day off to see Aggie Volleyball.  Since it started early, I’d hoped to catch a ball game when I got back.  Unfortunately, the Rockies played a day game, but the good news was that they won to keep their winning streak going.  My likely last chance to hear the Rangers this season on the radio went by the wayside as well.  The game was on the west coast and started shortly after I got home, but then I made a couple of phone calls and forgot about it.  That’s okay.  When I tuned in, they were carrying Thursday Night Football, which I kind of expected.

9-28-18

The Brewers versus the Tigers.  This was a tremendous game which I can sum up in three words: Front Row Amy.  Whew, she was looking good and in a low-cut shirt there behind home plate.  She looked really happy too, which was good to see.  Usually she’s kind of expressionless. 

The Brewers went down 3-0, but came back to lead 5-3, then coughed it up in the eighth.  (Kato Kaelin must have been furious.)  In the ninth, Ryan Braun hit what was likely a shot that would have hit the top of the wall.  Nicholas Castellanos jumped for the ball and tipped it on to the padding.  The ball rolled on top and then fell over.  There was a classic delayed reaction from everyone watching it.  6-5 Brewers win.

Amy says on her Twitter:

Ryan Braun!!!! Wow. He is in postseason form right now. Love to see THAT! Big crowd tonight! Love to see THAT too!  Get em AGAIN tomorrow #Brewers!!!! Hopefully @Cardinals will help us out as well. Let’s Goooooooooo!  

The Rockies also punched their post season ticket with a win today.

9-29-18

The Rockies were beaten by the Nationals 12-2.  I heard the end of that one.  The Dodgers won, which eliminated the Cardinals and put them into a tie with the Rockies.  The Brewers and the Cubs are also tied.  It’s coming down to the wire.  It’s good thing we’re at the end of the season, because I’m about to run out of sports clichés. 

9-30-18

And we finished the regular season with the Dodgers and the Rockies and the Brewers and the Cubs tied in their divisions.  We go to Game 163 to settle this.  If only I’d found out when they were playing.

NM State Aggies vs Eastern AZ Gila Monters Softball 9-30-18

Once again, I was missing some stuff on TV.  In this case, NASCAR was running Charlotte in the “Roval” configuration for the first time.  Also, there was another Utah State Women’s Soccer match on Stadium.  (Yes, I wanted to see this stuff.)  However, Ron was available and wanted to go to see the softball and I did too, even if it was just an exhibition game.  I’m really feeling bad for Ron.  This was a free event and he’s just barely gotten any use out of his season pass for Aggie sports. 

It was again warm and sunny.  There was a bit of a breeze, but it wasn’t helping with the sun directly shining into the crowd.  Thankfully, they were running the scoreboard, which isn’t always the case with an exhibition game.  The crowd was pretty light for the game.  It was another hard core Aggie fan event.  I did see Danny there and told him about Brandy Hernandez saving Aggie Softball yesterday.

Samaria Diaz started for the Aggies.  The Gila Monters’ starter was wearing a mask.  Out of the circle with it off, she was very pretty with bright eyes.  No wonder she wanted to protect her face.  The AZ catcher had great silver blonde hair too. 

In the bottom of the first, Jeanelle Medina led off with a hit and took second on a sloppy throw into the infield.  Kelsey Horton did not hit a home run in two games yesterday.  On the first pitch to her, she hit a line drive homer out to left center.  She was due and was apparently well aware of her homer drought.  2-0 Aggies. 

The inning continued and would be capped by a Kennedy Johnson three-run homer.  A very pretty friend of hers sitting in front of us cheered her on.  5-0 Aggies.  In the second, Kayla Bowen was at short made a good catch on a floater.  Then on a grounder to second with a runner on first, Nikki Butler, the catcher, called for Jeanelle to throw to first for the sure out.  By that time, Jeanelle had already gotten the lead runner at second.  She is so slick.

Ron and I had a conversation about Bob Uecker, the Brewers’ radio broadcaster (among other careers).  I told Ron that Uecker was invited into the Brewers’ locker room after they’d clinched and was sprayed with champagne.  They’d even put in a statue of him at Miller Park (seated last row, upper deck, obstructed view seat).  I mentioned how my co-worker Mike keeps insisting that’s he’s passed away.  “He’s not dead, Mike,” is my usual response.  Ron remembered Uecker’s great standup appearances on The Tonight Show.  “He was a funny guy,” Ron said winsomely.  “He’s not dead, Ron!  He’s still funny.”

Out on field, Kelsey was smiling continuously.  You couldn’t help but notice.  I don’t know what she did over the summer, but I’ll guess she’s happy to be back out playing in a game with her team.  Third inning, oh my goodness, the Gila Monsters have not one, but two girls who are significantly shorter then 5’0” Brandy Hernandez.  I think Aggie pitching was having trouble with their truncated strike zones.  Brandy would record a putout on a fly ball on one of the girls.

A couple of Aggie subs came in the fourth.  Buddy Vargas took over second and Rylan Gonzales went to third.  During the inning, Analise de la Roca and Kennedi Sorenson came in as the new battery.  It was quiet enough that you could hear the AZ coach tell her team, “We’re not playing the scoreboard; we’re playing the inning!” 

In the bottom, Brandy bunted her way on to load the bases.  Buddy would drive in a run on an infield hit when the fielder had some indecision where to throw to.  Kelsey would drive in a run on a sacrifice and another run came in on an error.  8-0 Aggies.  The AZ pitcher came out and got a lecture by one of the other coaches by their dugout.  She was hanging her head, though I don’t think there was much she could have done about the defensive miscues. 

Is that Larry Rose III over in the center section?  I had his poster up at work for a year, so I think I should recognize him.  Why was he here and not playing with some professional team?  He was here with another player and their girlfriends and seemed to be having a good time.  After not recognizing Misty Hoohuli yesterday, who I also had posters of, I was insecure about accosting anybody.  (I just wanted to say, “Thank you.”)  He didn’t come close by anyway.  One of the assistant Women’s Basketball coaches was also here with his family.  He was in our section, but had his hands full with his little kids.  I recognized him, but I don’t actually know his name.

In the fifth there were more subs.  I couldn’t keep track of them.  Rylan made a shoe top trap and threw out a runner at second.  Analise got out of a two on, one out situation.  In the bottom, Alyssa Barela hit out a grand slam to make it 12-0.  Was this the same girl who struck out so badly yesterday?  Now we know she can hit. 

The Aggies girls broke out a new chant.  I need Shazam or something, because I know the classic tune, but don’t know the name.  Ron started chuckling when he heard it.  By the seventh, the opposing coaches and were chatting with each other and with the umps during play.  12-0 Aggies was the final.

Coach Kathy and the AZ coach met at home plate afterward and agreed they’d just run some practice instead of another game.  The Aggie girls had to come out to dress the field.  They didn’t let them use the little tractor though.  (The moment the coach wasn’t looking, I’m sure they would have been joyriding on it.)  Ron and I retreated to his car for some air conditioning. 

For the practice, the teams ran through some situations, like one on, two outs.  I’m sure they run these drills all the time, but being able to run them against another team was a great opportunity.  It was serious, but still pretty casual.  Kelsey, still all smiles, chatted with the first base ump.  The second base ump talked with the Aggie outfielders. 

The coaches were observing and shouting out some directions to the players.  The AZ coach stood behind second to more closely watch her infield work.  I only noted two plays.  One of the short Gila Monster batters got plunked, but had to go back and finish the at bat, and multi-talented Analise de la Roca  homered for the Aggies. 

The temperature had cooled a bit with a pleasant breeze.  There were still people there watching from the stands.  It was kind of relaxing.  Ron had to go to work before it was over, but we stopped to get dinner at Raising Canes, since I had the coupon from Aggie Volleyball on Saturday.  Ron was waxing poetic about their chicken strips as we drove over.  They have that effect on people.  The meal was excellent, of course.  Just as we finished, what do you know, some of the volleyball team came in.  Presumably, they had coupons too.  I brazenly went over and thanked them for the meal, but didn’t overstay my welcome.  It’s nice to get some recognition for giving back to the fans.    

NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Softball 9-29-18

I forgot what I did between this game and the previous game with the Lobos.  I admit after the volleyball match, autographs, walking to get lunch, and sitting out in the heat for a game-and-a-half, I was getting a bit tired by this point.  All that happened was that the field got dressed for the game.  The UTEP fans came back.  They and their team were more lively than the Lobos and their fans were.  The Aggies played the Miners in El Paso last week and won, so UTEP was looking for revenge.  It was like a tournament championship game atmosphere and the game itself reinforced that. 

Samaria Diaz started for the Aggies and she has a vocal fan club in the stands.  Before the first game, I noticed she was out dancing on the field.  The girls were all probably happy to be playing and not walking up and down the football stadium berm or serving rolled tacos at the Pan-Am Center.  UTEP’s starter was #20 Kira McKechnie.  I looked her up on their online roster.  She was a statuesque beauty wearing her eye black like warpaint. 

In the bottom of the first, the Aggies drew a pair of walks to start.  The Miners turned a double play in the inning, but Nikki Butler was able to drive in Jeanelle Medina to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead.  I could smell somebody working a barbeque nearby, but badly.  I lost my appetite.  A UTEP fan below me had his phone up and was Periscoping the event. 

Sam ended the top of the second by starting a double play.  In the bottom, the Aggies finally started singing from the dugout with Sarai Mejia up to bat, who was in right field for this game.  Keala Brown was the starter in left and also came up this inning.  The volleyball girls returned for this game, after showing up for the first game, and playing a match themselves this morning.  That’s some Aggie dedication. 

Through three innings, both teams were getting runners on.  This was also making the game go longer, which was what I didn’t want.  I think there was only one 1-2-3 inning in the game total.  In the fourth, Mya Felder at third made a good play on a popup by the wall.  Freshman Chloe Rivas came into pitch and finished out the inning. 

In the fifth, Chloe ran into trouble with the bases loaded and two outs.  A hit by pitch drove in a run and a single drove in two runs to make it 3-1 UTEP.  The bases were reloaded on another hit, but Jeanelle speared a liner at second to finally end the inning.  While this felt like a playoff game, this was the one point where I think Coach Rodolph was playing it like an exhibition.  In this case, she wanted to see how Chloe would respond to pressure.

Anne Marie Vargas, better known as “Buddy” came in to play second this inning.  Hey!  Where’s Caity Szczesny!  After a game-and-a-half, I finally noticed I hadn’t seen her.  She has my favorite player name and is a good player too.  She’s still listed on the roster online.  Hopefully, she’s okay.  A Chinese family came in and sat by me.  It’s been a strangely international day with that Russian family sitting by me at the volleyball earlier. 

In the bottom of the fifth, after a pair of walks, a new UTEP pitcher was brought in to face Kelsey Horton.  During her at bat, we had the play of weekend.  Kelsey hit a screaming line drive into the Aggie dugout.  The ball went right at Coach Rodolph’s head.  Little Brandy Hernandez saved the Aggie Softball program by snatching the ball out of the air before it hit her.  The pair started laughing, which got the crowd laughing too.  Kathy picked up Brandy and gave her a big bear hug. 

On field, Mya sacrificed in Kayla Bowen and Nikki doubled in Buddy to tie it, 3-3.  In the sixth, UTEP got two on with two out.  Samaria came back in to pitch.  Buddy made a diving stop and flip to second for the force out to end the inning.  In the bottom, the Aggies got two on with two out, but also didn’t score. 

In the seventh, UTEP again got two on with two out.  The last batter hit a monster foul ball out of the park, but Sam finished it with a strikeout looking.  I was not looking forward to the possibility of extra innings.  It’d been a long day for me, so I was rooting for a conclusion this inning.  The Aggie got two on again as Mya doubled and Nikki was pegged.  Kayla Bowen came up and slammed an absolute moonshot to center.  The fielder started running back at the crack of the bat, but it was a no-doubter.  It was a three-run walkoff homer.  Welcome to the team, KB!  6-3 Aggies final!

I may have been begging for the game to end at the time, but I was not expecting that.  It was a heck of a game.  I noticed afterward, even the UTEP fans didn’t seem too unhappy.  It was hard to get upset when the winning play was so definitive and majestic.  After two games, I have to say I can see why the Coach was so enthusiastic about the team and her new players.  

NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos Softball 9-29-18

[Sorry.  This is a day later than I meant to post this.  I’ve been distracted the last couple of days as Comet TV just started showing Babylon 5 in the afternoon and began with the two-hour pilot movie.  Between this show and Space:1999 on the weekends, they’re actually showing some interesting stuff.] 

 

After watching an Aggie Volleyball victory and having lunch, I was ready for some exhibition softball.  I could have skipped having lunch out and gone back home to see some baseball, but I didn’t want to have to come back right afterward for the Aggie games.  This was sort of an unofficial regional invitational with the Aggies, Lobos, and Miners here.  The first game featured the two visiting teams, which I came in the middle of.  When the Aggies posted their games, I sort of guessed the Lobos and Miners would be playing at this time and the Miners’ website confirmed it. 

UTEP Miners vs UNM Lobos 

After looking over my notes for half-a-game, I decided this didn’t merit a separate post.    It was hot and sunny at the Softball Complex, but there was a little breeze, so it wasn’t terrible.  Next door, the Aggie Baseball team was practicing.  The Aggie Softball team would arrive before the end would hang out around the outfield fence to watch the game.  Aggie fans would also trickle in as this game ran over the announced start time of the next game.      

Unlike the other softball exhibitions I’ve been too, there was a good, partisan crowd here.  (I have to admit that the UTEP fan gear looked pretty good.)  Both dugouts were fully into the game and making lots of noise.  The scoreboard was on and they were even playing music between innings.  (A couple of guys in UTEP shirts were running things in the pressbox.)  There weren’t any programs to tell who was who.  In the case of the Lobos, it wouldn’t have mattered, as they were wearing what looked like warmup jerseys that didn’t have numbers on them. 

The first thing I noticed on the field was the pretty Lobo first baseman.  From looking at the roster online later, I think she was #32 Lauren Wilmert.  She’d change positions to catcher in the next game, so she must be pretty talented as well.  On the field for UTEP later, I noticed their third baseman wearing face mask like a pitcher.  I figure there’s always a bad story behind players wearing one of those. 

Wait a minute.  There by the Miner dugout.  Gasp!  It’s the WAC Girl!  Yes, it was that young woman I’d waxed poetic about from the WAC Softball Tournament (Game 8, 5-11-18).  She appeared to be here working for UTEP in some sort of staff capacity.  Unfortunately, that’s all I saw of her.  When the Aggies played the Miners later, she was in the visitor’s dugout and I couldn’t see her.  What a cruel tease. 

The scoreboard said it was the fourth inning and 4-2 Miners when I arrived.  While the players and fans were taking the game seriously, I did see a Lobo coach chatting amicably with first base ump during play, something that likely wouldn’t happen if the game counted.  In the sixth, UTEP scored a run on an error, and followed that up with a three-run homer by #21 Cortney Smith to make it 8-2 Miners. 

My only scouting observation was that UTEP pitcher #27 (a number I can’t find on their online roster, so much for my scouting) has a great offspeed pitch.  The Lobo batters were fairly befuddled.  In the seventh, the Lobo centerfielder (sorry no jersey numbers) made a great over-the-shoulder running catch.  UTEP ended the game on a double play.  The third baseman caught a liner and threw out a runner at first.  8-2 UTEP final.  The Miners looked pretty good here.

NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos

Oh, my notes are complete mess here, since I couldn’t identify the new Aggie players either.  A senior fan nearby had a printed roster and would read off their names, but it was still confusing.  Between two Kaylas, one Keala, two Kennedys, and three similar-looking (with their gear on) blonde catchers and a bunch of other players I wasn’t familiar with, I was scratching out and scribbling over everything I wrote.   

Here’s the opening lineup, I think.  The fabulous Kelsey Horton was back playing at first base this year.  Coach Kathy Rodolph had mentioned this in an interview on the Aggie Coaches Show.  (And she sounded so happy and upbeat, too.  That was good to hear.)  Kelsey had some rough moments playing second, but really improved the more she played there.  I think that time there will actually help her play first better.  She’s also gone back to dark hair.  I can’t explain that change, because she looks better blonde.

Sure-handed Jeanelle Medina was moved from third to second.  As good as she was at third and as much action as she saw there, I don’t think I would have moved her.  Perhaps her presence at second will deter teams from trying to hit up the middle.  A pair of freshman was on the other side.  #23 Kayla Bowen (KB) was at short, and #30 Mya Felder (pronounced “Maya”) was at third.

5’0” Brandy Hernandez was in left field.  The Coach gushed about her play in El Paso last week at an exhibition versus UTEP, calling her a “Gnat at a picnic,” because they couldn’t get her out.  The diminutive local girl is also a fan-favorite.  Veteran Victoria Castro (Tori) was in center with Kennedy Johnson (KJ), who’d pretty much just pinch hit last year was in right field. 

Nikki Butler was at catcher.  Thumper that she is, she’s the reason opposing pitchers have to pitch Kelsey.  Senior Kayla Green started the game.  It seems like just yesterday she was a freshman (2-14-16) at the first softball game I attended.  She’s still striking out there in the circle.  Okay, that was an unintentional pun.  Take two.  It’s still fascinating to watch her pitch.  From seeing her working for the volleyball team at the Pan-Am, Kayla looks stronger than I’ve seen her before.

A senior from last year, Amy Bergeson was working at the scorer’s table for the team and to finish her degree.  Another former player, Misty Hoohuli, was sitting nearby me and I’m kicking myself that I couldn’t identify her at the time.  I only had posters with her up at home and at work for a year.  I certainly noticed her, because she looked absolutely gorgeous.  (I do actually have a thing for Hawaiian girls because of a beautiful babysitter I had as a kid.)  She said “Hello” to several of the senior fans and sat with some vocal Aggie fans.  The fans asked her about playing and about the sign calling from the dugout.  Misty was there with a little girl (sister? niece?).  She took her down to see the dugout and meet the players between games. 

In the first, Kayla had her offspeed working, which was good to see.  In the bottom, Mya made a great first impression on Aggie fans, as she mashed a homer on to the roof of the field house beyond left field with Kelsey on.  That was a heck of a shot.  2-0 Aggies.  Some of the girls from Aggie Volleyball came in after the game started.  These girls have busy lives. 

In the third, Kayla got a strikeout on a fastball.  I think she’s throwing harder than before.  Mya came up again in the bottom and pounded a very hard line out to the opposite field.  She’s got some power.  I already knew about Nikki’s power, but had it demonstrated again as she also hit the field house roof with a solo shot.  3-0 Aggies.

In the fourth, the Aggies showed off their defense.  Jeanelle made a good stab, stop, and throw to first for an out.  I am unsurprised that she’s good playing second base.  For the final out, Brandy made a diving catch and the crowd erupted for her.  In the bottom, KJ got a hit.  The cute freshman girl that I’d seen working at the volleyball, Keala Brown, came in to pinch run.  After an “excuse me” swing from Kelsey, an error on a play at the plate brought in a run.  Mya drove in another run on a sacrifice to make it 5-0.

Analise de la Roca came in to pitch in the fifth.  I think she was also the DP up to that point.  She’s multi-talented.  They’ve also posted her doing interviews with some other Aggie athletes, like Brooke Salas.  Shelby Shultes came in to catch her.  Keala went to right field.  I think Kennedi Sorenson was the DP (I’m glad I wasn’t trying to figure this out on a scorecard) and got an RBI on a fielder’s choice.  6-0 Aggies.

In the sixth, there was a Lobo home run to right.  The ball seemed to catch a jetstream and just kept carrying.  6-1 Aggies.  UTEP fans started coming in at this point.  It must have been after 6:00pm, the announced start time for the next game.  In the bottom, Sarai Mejia came in to pinch hit, but was hit by the pitch.  Jeanelle scored by tagging up on a flyball and a bad throw in.  Alyssa Barela, pinch hitting, struck out twice.  The ump called her back after a foul tip on a bad swing.  She took the same bad swing on the next pitch for the out.  7-1 Aggies was the final score with the final out being a looking strikeout.

Okay, next up, *Aggies versus Miners.*

Comics Review: Future Quest

I had heard about this book before it came out and was interested in it.  Just attaching Steve Rude’s name was enough to get my attention, as he’s one of my favorites.  Years ago, he’d did a great comic book adaption of Space Ghost.  If nothing else, this was an ambitious project, as it combined many of the completely unrelated adventure, fantasy, and superhero characters from Hanna-Barbera’s cartoons.   (No Blue Falcon though.  His partner, Dyno-Mutt, must have been deemed too silly for this concept.)

I was familiar with Space Ghost, The Herculoids, and Jonny Quest from watching Saturday morning cartoons in my youth.  Jonny Quest was actually originally broadcast as a prime time TV show.  It was really well-produced adventure show and had a tremendous theme song.  The Herculoids was not one of my favorites.  Conceptually, it was a family living in a primitive style with a some large funky monsters, who were defending their planet from invaders.  It was kind of strange.  This volume at least explains their origin. 

Space Ghost is a superhero in space.  He is so cool, Marvel and DC must be killing themselves that didn’t invent the character.  Above mentioned Steve Rude loved the character so much, he created Nexus with Mike Baron as something of an homage for an independent comic company.  Unfortunately, Space Ghost may be better known by later audiences as a gag character on a comedy show.  Birdman, a prominent character in this story, is a character I had never even heard of before his more recent remaking into a comedy character.

There’s also a bunch of other character groups that I’d never heard of at all.  I can’t even name them.  Some of these groups got a short shrift.  Others got a good introduction, but weren’t well-integrated into the main story.  If this volume has an easily-definable fault, it’s an overabundance of characters.  Some had to be introduced in side stories to give them some context, but some weren’t even given that. 

For the story itself, it was epic and dramatic, if not frantic.  It’s a fun read and there’s a definite “squee” factor seeing all these characters together.  The artwork is great throughout, even working in several different artists.  The concept is kind of brilliant in combining all these characters.  The giant, master evil thing is a bit clichéd, but actually ties into Space Ghost’s heretofore unknown origin.  He’s like a combination of Green Lantern and The Lone Ranger. 

“Frantic” also describes the rate of character introductions.  It was a bit like the creators were trying to roll out the whole concept as quickly as possible, instead of just focusing on the star characters and saving the others for possible followup series.  According to Wikipedia, this series only ran for 12 issues, which probably covered this initial story in a breathless fashion.  This trade only covers six issues and I don’t think there was a volume 2.  It seems unlikely I’ll be able to get the rest of the story. 

This concept deserved to be a continuing series, but it was only going to be a limited one in this publishing environment.  It was also only ever going to be a limited success since me and people like me were the only ones who were going to be interested in this comic.  There really isn’t much of a “kids” market for comics, especially not $4.00 issues only sold in boutiques and not on a newsstand at a better price.  Space Ghost at least deserves another chance, perhaps even integration into the proper DC universe.  Jonny Quest, maybe with a little “reimaging,” could also work (though the “Real Adventures” animated series already tried that without success).  

Birdman

Herculoids cover

Dr. Zin and Jezebel Jade 

Like something out of Doug Wildey's sketchbook

Awesome Bill Siekiewicz cover

Speaking of “reimaging,” when I bought this volume, I also picked up an issue of an edgy, sci-fi remake of The Jetsons.  Everyone was living in the sky because the earth was flooded and Rosie was actually George’s mother’s soul uploaded into a robot.  Too advanced, bro.  Too much.  I don’t actually still own the issue, so I used this fake movie poster image here.  I wouldn’t mind seeing that get made.  At least they didn’t try doing a “realistic” version of The Flintstones (or I didn’t notice it on the stands at the time).

NM State Aggies vs GCU Lopes Volleyball 9-29-18

As you can see, I had a successful outing, but the day got even got better as it went along.  Still, I was missing my last shot at watching regular season baseball and it was a meaningful game.  I think it was going to be the Dodgers and Cardinals, thus I was skeptical about going out.  With my season pass, I’d already paid for the game, which more-or-less decided it.  Any opportunity to see the volleyball girls is also welcome. 

Ron wasn’t able to come today.  As I sat by myself for 20 minutes in the Pan-Am Center waiting for the match, I began to wonder if I should have stayed home and watched baseball.  A decent crowd came in, maybe a bit less than Thursday’s game.  A Russian-sounding fellow and his wife and daughter sat in front of me.  By Russian, I do mean speaking Russian.  His little girl was wearing a pair of good headphones and was reading the first Harry Potter book.  She’s got a ways to go in the series. 

Yeah, that’s it.  That’s my whole intro.  Usually I go on for a couple of pages.  I literally sat staring vacantly into space for 20 minutes today.  Maybe I should have brought a book.

Set 1

Bam!  Julianna Salanoa started off the match with a kill.  That was good to see.  Unfortunately, they’re still not tracking of player kills up on the scoreboard, so that’s about all of the definitive scoring I have: Aggie #9 1 kill.  The Aggies started off killing well and blocking very well.  I said before, the middle blocker position on the team is one that they’re deep at, even with Lia Mosher and Brielle Sterns out.  Tatyana Battle and Megan Hart combined on a block to make it 5-4 Aggies.  Megan and Brigette Lowe combined on a pair of back-to-back blocks to make it 8-4.  (Actually, I’m willing to bet you could combine me and Megan Hart on a block and still get the block.) 

Savannah Davison had a kill to bring it to 9-5 Aggies and a GCU timeout.  Sav had airmailed the first Aggie serve of the match.  For the rest of the match, she’d get cycled out after her first serve for a set for Halle Razo.  She didn’t seem happy about the subbing.  I don’t know if this happens every match, but I noticed it this time. 

Speaking of serves, two of the GCU girls had monster Brazilian beach volleyball-style jump serves.  KJ Adams served up an ace at 10-7.  Tegan Deflaco had an even harder serve.  You could tell just by hearing it in the stands.  I’m sure the Aggies were happy to side out those two out quickly. 

14-10 Meg got the kill, but GCU did make a couple of great saves on the play.  16-11 Taty got an overpass kill.  Everybody enjoys those.  Behind me, two guys were breaking down the match and the players.  I wonder if they were the same guys from the soccer match yesterday.  Maybe someday, I’ll be like those guys and actually understand the sport I’m watching in technical detail.  They even noticed that PA Ed takes a drink of water every time after he makes a booming announcement. 

19-13 Sav killed it on a long point.  Timeout GCU.  Down on the sidelines, Pistol Pete danced with some kids.  Various items were thrown into the crowd during the match.  The Russian fellow (he didn’t look stereotypically Russian, I might add) and his girl stood up and waved.  It was the only time she paid attention to the court.  I mentally decided that if I caught something, I’d give it to her on the condition she put her book down.  (No, I don’t care how hard it is to put down a Harry Potter book.) 

21-14 Briana Ainsworth with the dump shot.  Heh, heh, heh.  I love it.  22-15 libero Jordan Pleasants made two great saves, though GCU won the point.  The crowd still applauded the effort.  24-15 the Aggies got it to set point, but GCU got two great saves on the play.  Aggies took the first set 25-15.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Lopes 0

Savannah’s first serve of the set was a boomer that required a pancake dig to keep it from going directly into the center of the court.  She made sure to get that one in.  It got everyone’s attention.  I might not have noticed on her first set serve or this one, because she was on the other side of the court, but in the third set when she came back to my side, I saw that she was using a jump serve like the GCU girls.  Halle would still take all of her other serves for the match.  If Sav can consistently get her serve in like she did here in the second set, I say let her serve.  (Halle does have a good serve though.  Having too many good servers on a team really isn’t a problem.) 

The good blocking continued with Meg and Brigette, 5-3 Aggies.  GCU would come back and tie it at 9-9.  14-12 Aggies, Megan got the kill.  Two GCU players ran straight into each other, face first, on the point.  They were okay thankfully.  Their coach took a timeout.  18-14 Savannah with an overpass kill.  19-14 Meg with the ace.  She can just be just as deadly away from the net.  20-15 Brigette got a kill and GCU took their last timeout. 

I noticed AD Mario Moccia was again sitting at the scorer’s table.  I’m glad he’s here for the volleyball team, but he still seemed unhappy.  I didn’t see his little girls with him, maybe that’s why.  21-15 Taty made two diving saves and a dump shot won the point.  In the second set, the two big-serving GCU girls both airmailed their initial serves.  Probably after an admonishment by their coach, they started serving in a more conventional fashion.  KJ did much better and ran off two points on her serve, 21-18.  Timeout Aggies.  23-21 GCU got the point, but Jordan made an off-the-court save and Taty made a falling one-handed hit to get the ball back over the net.  GCU got it to 24-23 and Coach Jordan took another timeout.  Megan would finish it with a kill to take Set 2, 25-23.

Set 3: Aggies 2, Lopes 0

I’m missing the goofy halftime entertainment this season with the shortened break time.  The Aggies were looking good here and then got just what they didn’t want.  4-2 GCU, Ashley Anselmo ran into the sideline table and came up limping.  She motioned she was done immediately as the up official called for the trainer.  Ashley was able to walk gingerly with help over to the trainer’s table to get worked on.  For this match, I thought the Aggies were going to be fine, but they will really need her against the tougher teams in conference, as she’s a powerful outside hitter.  Cat Kelly came in to replace her.

4-4 not to be outdone, a Lopes player dove into Adam Young and Kelsi Meredith calling the game.  They don’t prepare broadcasters for that kind of stuff in school.  8-7 Aggies (I think), Coach Jordan argued the point by sending his captain, Tatyana, back-and-forth to the up official.  I think Taty was trying not to laugh as she participated in this strange ritual mandated by the rules. 

9-9 Tegan aced it using a conventional serve.  The showmanship of the jump serve is fun to watch, but really kind of unnecessary for a good serve.  12-10 Aggies, Cat got a kill and made it look easy.  13-11 Cat again with the kill.  14-11 Megan with an overpass kill.  She’s so good.  During a TV timeout, the video board showed Lia Mosher, on crutches with her foot in a boot, over at the trainer’s table talking to Ashley.  A piercing, blood curdling shriek split the silence.  Harry . . . Oops, sorry.  I was reading over the little girl’s shoulder along during the break.  I wonder what happens to Harry Potter next.

20-14 Megan with another kill.  I need more superlatives.  Then the play of the match, Julianna Salanoa leapt into the air to pound it with her right and then instead, tipped it with her left for an easy kill.  A couple of years ago, I had mentally theorized about that sort of attack, but this was the first time I’d ever seen anyone actually try it.  Bravo!  22-16 Cat was making the most of her sub and scored another strong kill. 

23-16 timeout GCU.  The PA tried to play Sweet Caroline during the break, but didn’t get to the chorus before play resumed.  No problem.  The crowd went “Bum, bum, bum,” even without the music.  (And you thought that only happened to Charlie Blackmon and his walkup music.)  Appropriately, the match ended on an Aggie block, 25-16 and 3-0 Aggies.  And, since the team won in straight sets, the Raising Canes promotion paid off and I got a two-for-one coupon.  I’m set for lunch tomorrow.           

Not much to analyze here.  The Aggies are really good at home.  They weren’t even playing that sharp, but were able to dominate GCU.  On the press table, I saw some discarded stat sheets, but they were from after the Second Set.  As you’d expect, Tatyana Battle and Savannah Davison were leading in kills.  I’m pretty sure they led the rest of the way.  We really hope Ashley Amselmo will be okay shortly, because her presence out on court makes the other team justifiably nervous about getting hammered from the right pin.  If not, next woman up.  Other teams will overlook Cat Kelly and she’ll make them pay.

Autographs

Yeah and here’s the real reason I skipped out on baseball to go to volleyball today.  I’d seen this was scheduled on their Twitter feed.  Once again, I was standing in line with a bunch of little 10-year old girls like at soccer a couple of weeks ago (9-9-18).  Apparently, I’m shameless.  (I almost feel like breaking into song.  Do I pick the Billy Joel version or the Garth Brooks version?)  As before, I was struck by how much the players love interacting with these little girls.  Putting the girls out in the community to work with kids or bringing kids to the university to work with them as much as possible could only benefit NM State sports.    

I didn’t get to talk to all the girls, which was too bad, because I actually know all of their names.  It’s likely a good thing that this all went quick because I didn’t want to turn into that Chris Farley character that spas-es out and tells people how cool they are.  (I pretty much did that anyway.)  Like dear Brandee Walton last year (1-7-17), several of the girls were thanking people for coming out to the game.

Analyssa Acosta was first up and she’s been the sweetest thing all three years I’ve been getting autographs.  As much as I’d like to see all the girls play and do well, I’d like to see her out on court the most.  The rest here aren’t in order.  I got to congratulate Brigette Lowe on her blocking.  I told Cat Kelly she was really good in relief.  I said, “Hi,” to Briana Ainsworth.  I don’t know if remembered me from the day before or not at the soccer match.  She’d acquired a little cut on her nose since yesterday that I didn’t ask about.  I made sure to call Zoe Abeyta by name.  Since she’s been sitting on the bench this year, I wanted to give her some recognition.

Ashley Anselmo was amazingly there signing and all smiles.  She’s a trooper.  She said she’d twisted her ankle, but didn’t think it was serious.  On that note, I asked Lia Mosher about her twisted ankle, since I’d seen her playing last week (9-20-18) and I thought she was over it.  She’d had a MRI after that game that said otherwise.  I asked Brielle Sterns if she missed her scooter from when she was injured.  She didn’t, but did kind of enjoy using it at first.  I hate talking about these good players being injured.  

I couldn’t remember that it was the Arizona game (9-8-18) at the time, but I made a point to tell Jordan George that I thought she did a good job in the set where she was the libero.  I knew she’d sat out all last year; I was glad that she got to play finally.  I didn’t get to talk to Jordan Pleasants, but I did see that she has really blue eyes.  “Captain, leave your hair down.  It looks good,” I told Tatyana Battle.  She said the braids weigh too much, but I think she appreciated the compliment.

Julianna Salanoa has a stud in her tongue.  I wanted to turn into her dad for a moment and ask her why on earth she did that.  In any case, she’s warm and bubbly.  I called her, “sneaky,” for that lefty tip.  Yeah, she was still grinning about getting away with that one.  I didn’t talk to Halle Razo, so I couldn’t clarify the pronunciation of her name, but getting a looking a look at her close up, she’s a real cutie.  Speaking of good looks, all I could blurt out to Megan Hart was, “You’re awesome.”  I’m sure I had big anime eyes when I said it with little valentine hearts popping up around me. 

Then there’s that little blank space under one of the girls’ pictures, Brittany Welch.  I haven’t seen her with the team for several games.  I don’t know what happened to her.  I’d really wanted to tell Brittany that she looked good in the Scrimmage (8-18-18).  There’s a bunch of players in front of her for an outside hitter position, but I wanted to encourage her to listen to the coaches and stay ready.  Her time would come at some point, some day.  Brittany’s still listed on the roster, so hopefully she’s still on the team.

Adam Young and his broadcast partner, the lovely Kelsi Meredith, were at the end of the line, packing up.  And at this point, I blanked.  I shook Adam’s hand and waved hello to Kelsi, when I should have been asking them about the game.  What can I say?  Too many pretty girls all at once.  Walking out, I ran into Rito on the production crew.  I held up my autograph card, “Darn it!  No phone numbers!”  He said he was going to be there for another two hours taking down the production.  Not a glamorous life.

Lastly, I walked over to Schlotzsky’s for lunch where I was NOT eating ice cream.  (We’ve covered this issue in detail many times over.)  Associate Coach Keith Rubio pulled in a little while later.  I immediately accosted him and congratulated him on the win.  I asked if him and his brother, the Arizona coach, were still speaking.  He said they were, but perhaps only because he’d beaten them in the rematch.  Another fan also talked to him.  I’m just an assistant coach.  I’m not famous!  I’m just here for lunch.  The fan asked about Ashley, and the coach didn’t seem as optimistic as she did earlier. 

That’s discouraging, but not as discouraging as having to go over to McDonalds to get inferior ice cream for dessert.  (Because “Ice cream is for winners!”)  I did ask the assistant manager at Schlotzsky’s about the ice cream.  She said the company was looking at other options and there were going to be big changes early next year.  We’ll hope for the best.  The team performed well today.  I performed poorly getting autographs, but wasn’t banned for life from the Pan-Am Center in the process, so that’s a victory too.  And, I’m fueled up with a good meal and ready for some Aggie Softball next.  

NM State Aggies vs Utah Valley Wolverines Soccer 9-28-18

It’s really a troubling sign that I actually threw away my notes for this game before I wrote this.  Thankfully, they were on top of the garbage when I retrieved them after I realized that I’d forgotten to write up this match.  I got two reasons for forgetting.  One, as I write this on Sunday evening, I’ve been to seven sporting events over the past four days. Two, of the seven events, this is one I’d probably like to forget. 

Given that I’d taken off Thursday to see Aggie Volleyball, and it was quarter end Friday night, and there were some equipment issues at work, I shouldn’t have gone to this soccer match.  I was going to ensure that I’d be arriving at work late and wouldn’t be able to talk to anybody about the status of anything.  On the other hand, screw it!  I want to see the soccer girls.  (It would require a separate post to explain my job dissatisfaction and I don’t have the time or energy.)

This felt like an unenthusiastic start to WAC play for the team on the part of the fans.  The parking lot was more empty than usual for a game day.  There was a tailgate tent set up, but there was just one guy there, smoking a cigar.  A few members of Aggie Softball arrived.  I think they were working behind the nets to shag balls.  (Walking up and down the football berm, serving rolled tacos at volleyball, and now this.  Why are these poor girls being punished so harshly?)  The football team was next door working out on the practice field. 

It would be hot, bright, and sunny for today’s game.  Once again, I was hiding under an umbrella with a just-purchased Gatorade.  Late in the first half, they brought in a jug of water for the fans, but no cups.  There was again no program.  I’m sensing some slight indifference towards the fans. 

Inside, you couldn’t miss the opposition, the Utah Valley Wolverines, in their bright, lime green warmup tops.  They worked out by the stands, so I got a good look at them.  Then, they took shots at the scoreboard behind the north goal like every other opposition team.  The stands were still covered in grass clippings from last game (9-20-18).  The crowd was very light to start, but filled in reasonably at the start of the match.  DJ Downs read off a series of upcoming Aggie game announcements before this game started.  He accidently started reading the entry to promote this match and caught himself and stopped. 

I noticed my dear Aileen Galicia was playing last week in the team’s loss in El Paso to UTEP.  I don’t know if she had a concussion or not when she didn’t play in the last game here, but I’m glad she’s back.  She seemed a little subdued during player introductions.  Dmitri Fong was not back in goal for the UTEP game.  I’m thinking she injured herself but good in the last game and might be done for the season.  Ashley Martin would be in goal.  She was at least fired up and damn happy to be there in the introductions.  That was good to see.

First Half

43’ left in the half, Ash was already getting a workout and blocked a shot.  Out in the field, Aileen was being all but assaulted whenever she touched the ball.  I think she might have been discussed in the Wolverines’ pre-game.  (Seriously, she was getting man-handled.)  Across the field, both coaches were shouting directions out to their players.  Ashley was vocal than I’d heard her before, or perhaps because the crowd was being really quiet, I could hear more.  (The Old Man wasn’t even there with his usual cheering.) 

Rebecca Mazzie was tripped at midfield.  Jess McDow got knocked down.  On second thought, the Wolverines were playing all the Aggies physical.  Aileen gave it back and knocked down one of the Wolverines.  35’ there was a turnover on the Aggie end.  One quick crossing pass in front of the goal and Sadie Brockbank found the back of the net.  Ash pretty much had no chance on it.  1-0 Wolverines.  Those turnovers are brutal.

32’ Ashley stopped a roller on goal.  31’ Aileen banged heads with a girl.  If she had a concussion before, I was now really concerned about her, but both girls got right back up.  Aileen then knocked down another player right afterward.  I think some baseball boys were sitting in front of the stands and they cheered for her roughhousing.  25’ Aileen ambushed one attacker from behind and then slide tacked another.  Not only should she be playing hockey, Aileen’s position would be that of “goon.” 

20’ I think I heard Coach Doug Martin’s voice at the football practice field.  Apparently, he wasn’t happy with the team and said so with a short, powerful burst of profanity.  Everyone in crowd looked at each other.  Did you just hear that?  This was then followed by everyone chuckling.

Back to soccer, 16’ the Wolverines took another shot that went wide.  9’ some members of Aggie Volleyball came in, including Megan Hart and Tatyana Battle.  On field, Ashley tipped out a shot.  7’ Ash came out to stop an attack.  3’ Football practice ended.  A long train of the guys started marching towards the training building.  Hey, isn’t this the same building that the girls will be using at halftime?  Hopefully, they have different locker rooms. 

1’ Lece Aviles (nice hair, by the way) hit by a Wolverine in the UTV box.  The ref whistled Lece and turned the ball over to the Wolverines.  At this point, the fans started letting the ref have it.  They’d been wanting some yellow cards handed out for rough play by the Wolverines.  Bad idea.  Aileen would have been ejected by now by that standard.  Apparently the ref was just going to “let them play,” as it were, with little interference.

Halftime

A couple of guys came out of the crowd for a quick soccer skills competition.  The scoreboard for the game didn’t look good: UTV 4 shots on goal, NMSU 0.  Also, they were playing really miserable rap music through the break and before the match.  I’ve just about given up on better concessions, but can we get some better music?

Second Half

44’ Aileen took the initiative and drove down and shot just wide.  43’ she bumped a girl hard.  The crowd applauded.  (Honestly, I didn’t realize how rough she was in this game until I started reading my notes.)  42’ UTV took a shot just over the Aggie goal.  41’ Ash came out for an attack, but missed the ball.  Emma Smith was there by the goal and managed to kick it out.  Scary. 

40’ Ash stopped another roller.  If you’re talking about your goalie this much in a game, it’s probably a bad sign.  Meanwhile, Lece gave back some abuse and knocked down a Wolverine.  39’ a shot into the top shelf by Leesa Stowe.  2-0 Wolverines.  The shot came from way outside of the box.  Ash, again, had no chance on it.  38’ Audrey Chavez came right back and got in an attack with a high kick in front of the box.  The goalie caught it.

37’ defender Kelly Burton broke up a Wolverine breakaway.  30’ Audrey ran over a girl.  I think the Aggies were at least winning the fights by this point.  Right after that, Ashley grabbed a ball in the box in front of two attackers.  I’m not sure how she did it or how two attackers were left unchallenged that deep in the Aggie end.  27’ Emma took a long shot that was caught.  Right back to the other end, UTV got another attack in front of the net.  The attacker took a kick with her back turned to the net with her heel.  That would have been spectacular if it had worked.  (If I ever see a bicycle kick into the net in person, I might faint.) 

21’ the crowd was in an uproar as Emma was grabbed, but called for a foul.  20’ Aileen kicked away a ball in front of a wide open Aggie net.  Whew.  18’ Ashley got in on the rough play and knocked down a girl in the box.  15’ my personal highlight of the game.  Briana Ainsworth came in a bit after the other volleyball girls, but sat with maybe her mother up in the stands behind me.  When she left, I got her attention and congratulated her on the win yesterday.  I praised her serving and hustle on one particular play.  Bri seems like a really girl and maybe a bit reserved.  I hope I didn’t startle her. 

12’ Whitney Paskins was undefended in front of the Aggie net and kicked it in.  3-0 Wolverines.  Ashley had less chance on this one than a penalty kick.  At this point, much of the crowd left, including the other volleyball girls.  8’ Mia Montano came in as goalie.  I don’t think it was because Ashley was doing a bad job.  With the score out-of-hand this late, I’m thinking Coach Baarts wanted to get Mia some work.  There was one more shot by UTV that went just wide.  With under a minute left, Becca got in one more Aggie shove in and pushed a Wolverine into the ground. 

3-0 Utah Valley was the final.  This was a bad start to conference play for the Aggies.  The stat of the match was simply 7 to 1 shots on goal for the Wolverines.  After the match, the teams shook hands with each other (somehow no fist fights broke out) and the refs.  Last year, win or lose, the girls would then go to midfield and wave to the fans.  This year, they just walked directly back to their locker room. 

The team is showing some fight out on the field, but they’re looking more like soccer hooligans than soccer players at the moment.  The more offensive-minded strategy from previous games has given way to chaos.  There was no offense today.  If the team was being told to play tougher and more defensively for this game, as they were last year, why was the other team getting wide-open looks at the goal?  For the last two games, there’s been a couple of soccer experts behind me in the stands.  They’re giving a steady stream of technical commentary on what the team and the players aren’t doing well.  I wish I understood more of it, or alternately could have them write up the conclusion for this post to make it more useful. 

I was depressed after the match and seriously questioning my commitment to the team.  When I got to work, the depression just worse with what awaited me.  I am taking vacation for their next weekday game, so no more coming into work late.  (It’s almost as bad as me not showing up at all in terms of work.  Yes, I told them in advance I was coming in late.  They were okay with it or perhaps don’t give crap if I’m there or not.)  For this season at least, I’m there to see Aileen and wish her well on Senior Day in a few weeks.  Next year, I don’t know.  Who knows what my schedule will be then anyway?  Let’s hope for a successful change in strategy and bounce back game the next time I’m there.