Card Show: Very Vintage 3

This first one may be an apology card.  "As we have been so let us still be friends no cruel breath can chill!"  Maybe not, but lovely verse.

    

"Have kindly thoughts of me."

A little Oriental fan.

"A Merry Christmas," with mistletoe on a four-leaf clover?  Somewhat mixed holiday messages.

"All happiness to you."

Card Show: Very Vintage 2

Very pretty, ornate Valentines.  "A Message of Love."

 

"A Token of Love.  In endless peace and happiness may the years glide away, and may life be a perfect dream of joy from day to day."

"All happiness to you."

"May true friends be around you."

NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Women’s Basketball 12-13-22 Part 2

Part 1

 

Halftime

The Sundancers gave a spirited performance at the half.  A cute, perky trainer with the group stood in front of us to make a video of their performance.  (Such a pretty smile.)  Coach Baarts came by going down the sideline tables.  I tried to wave to him to show him my Soccer championship t-shirt to show him how much I paid for it, but didn’t get his attention.  He sat down by AD Mario Moccia at the other end. 

 

Santa came out on the floor with the Cheerleaders.  They performed a high-flying acrobatic routine that wowed the crowd.  Who knew the Jolly Olde Elf was so spry?  Mario went over and got his picture taken with him.  Mario asked for a controversy-free Christmas for NM State Athletics (and a bowl win). 

 

On the sidelines, a guy in the seats that looked like a team trainer casually drained a 3 before the warmups started.  That got a “Whoa” out of the crowd.  In front of broadcasters, the refs met and fist-bumped each other.  There is another team on the court that wants to perform well (not sure if that happened tonight).                

 

Third Quarter

Ene Adams got a layup to start the Aggie scoring for the second half, but a travelling call turned the ball over on the next trip.  The Aggies were defending well and forced a shot clock violation.  Ene grabbed a rebound and made a bucket.  Miner Elina Arike matched her with a quick layup.  The Aggies took a timeout after that, up 35-29, 3 minutes in. 

 

There was a cute commercial for Sunday’s Men’s game and the Teddy Bear Toss at the half.  The fans seem to like the promotion.  Across the court, the girl I was fixating on with the impressive piles of curly hair was rocking out to the Cher song over the PA.  Nobody’s perfect.  The Miners came out pressing again.  Shania Harper picked up her third foul.  Arike got a block on Tayelin Grays and came up with the ball, but stepped out.  Molly got her third foul on a charge call.  She came right back with a steal, but was blocked on her fast break layup.

 

35-31 Aggies with 4 minutes left at the Media timeout.  Harper didn’t call “Glass,” but did get a bank shot out of the break.  Taylor Donaldson was called for a reach in after a turnover.  It was her third foul.  Arike had a steal and layup to make it 37-35.  Timeout Aggies.  Back to the action, Tayelin was called for a questionable charge for her third foul.  Molly made a wild long pass to a UTEP player, who then threw it right back to her on a wild long pass.  Molly would miss a last second shot.  The quarter ended tied, 37-37.  The UTEP bench and their fans were roaring.

 

Fourth Quarter

A super cute girl was on court in the break for the Whataburger Fry Game.  Her and the crowd made the pick and won easily.  Molly was up to 14 points.  Arike and Avery Crouse each had 10 points for the Miners.  Molly went to coast-to-coast on a layup and the Aggies had two defensive stops on UTEP. 

 

The ref wearing the mask got hit by a tipped ball.  It wasn’t a comment on the officiating by the players.  However, Molly was called for her fourth foul.  She was scrambling for a loose ball with a Miner player.  It looked like a jump ball.  Molly came out.  Arike put in a shot from under the basket to put UTEP up 39-41 with 6 minutes left.  After a coast-to-coast layup by Jazion Jackson, UTEP went up 39-43.  Timeout Aggies.

 

Soufia Inoussa drained two free throws after a foul, but Jackson got a layup and made a free throw.  Taylor also picked up her fourth foul on that play.  Molly came back in.  Arike blocked Taylelin again on a shot.  Jackson had another layup to make it 41-48 Miners.  The Aggies hadn’t been shooting much from behind the arc.  They came back with two missed shots.  It was 41-50 with 3 minutes left, before Soufia hit the team’s first 3 of the game. 

 

Molly made a jumper and Taylor hit a 3 to close the score to 49-51.  The Miners came back with a layup and a foul.  The crowd was in an uproar.  They’d been vocal up to this point, but it was turned up more now.  The refs had a lengthy review of the play.  Molly was given the foul and fouled out.  She got a good hand coming out, finishing with 18 points.

 

Taylor hit another 3 on a fast break to cut the score to 52-54.  Timeout Miners.  Ashlee Strawbridge made a steal on an inbounds that went out.  The refs had another long review that did go the Aggies’ way.  Nevertheless, the crowd wasn’t amused.  There was a loudmouth behind me that been going for the whole game and was really letting the refs have it.  Arike hit two free throws after being fouled.  The Aggies were disorganized and turned it over.  52-57 UTEP wins. 

 

Molly Kaiser finished with 18 points and 3 steals.  Ron said he saw her puking into a bucket during the game and that’s he’s seen her do it in every game.  I cannot confirm that.  Taylor Donaldson had 11.  Shania Harper did the dirty work with 10 rebounds.  I think the team was missing Sylena Peterson, who was out for the game.  She’s a pretty good shooter.  For the Miners, Elina Arike led with 16 points and Avery Crouse had 10. 

 

Neither team shot 3’s well.  The Aggies were 3 for 15; the Miners were 2 for 8.  The Miners went 46% shooting, while the Aggies only shot 36%.  The Aggies did go 7 for 7 on free throws.  They did not have a lot of assists, so they weren’t moving the ball around and finding the open shot.  The team is competitive under Coach Adams, but is either lacking the pieces to win and/or they need more experience.

 

The Aggies did go around the sidelines to greet the fans, though they weren’t entirely enthusiastic.  Ron and I were both satisfied with the effort, even with the loss.  Ron was a bit quiet all evening.  I think he was mostly over his cold.  The girls should have an easier foe for next week’s noon game.  I’m taking my last day off for the year for it and am looking forward to it.   

NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Women’s Basketball 12-13-22 Part 1

Finally back to see the Aggie Women Basketball team.  Since their epic win over UNM (11-15-22), the team had had a disastrous 1-5 road trip.  The last game was a heartbreaking 1-point loss to the Lobos in the Albuquerque in front to 6,000 fans.  (No, I don’t know why their Women’s team is so popular.  They’re not that good.) 

 

Ron and I got together for dinner beforehand from Legend Burger.  Their burgers were excellent as always.  However the game turned out, at least we had a great meal.  The weather was not wonderful.  A hard cold wind had been blowing since yesterday.  It might have affected attendance tonight (808).  I might have expected more for a rivalry game and more UTEP fans.       

 

Once inside, I went right over to the merch kiosk.  I had the unfinished business of purchasing an Aggie Soccer WAC Championship t-shirt.  $30!  Ouch!  I have paid for my loyalty.  Don’t let it said I don’t love those Soccer girls.  (They didn’t even have the shirts out.  I had to ask for them and I was lucky they still had one in my size.) 

 

Santa Claus was in the house.  He was up front taking requests.  (Awesome outfit and beard.  He was a pro, possibly the real Santa.)  I don’t want anything, so I didn’t bother sitting in his lap.  Men’s Basketball finally put out a poster.  It featured their star, Xavier Pinson.  (Also, I’m not going to talk about the team’s troubles right now.  They’ve got unresolved off-court problems.  I’m happier with the Football team.  I plan on covering them in a separate post later in the month.)

   

We ran into Marketing Director, Nicole Sack, and had pleasant chat.  She was really wired.  She said something about eating too many of Santa’s cookies.  We were chatting about the finally completed concourse.  The construction for the new box seats had finally been cleared away.  It was looking good, but they still wouldn’t be ready for Sunday’s Men’s game. 

 

The teams, Aggies and Miners, alternated on court warming up.  Moe Shida flashed a big smile.  She seemed happy to be back playing at home.  Katia Gallegos was no longer on the Miners.  I’ll miss her.  I also missed the Anthem.  I gotten up to go to the bathroom and thought I had a couple of minutes before it would start.  The teams weren’t there for it anyway, but Ron noticed that there’s now a small Canadian flag flying in the rafters.  I think that was a leftover from the Men playing a Canadian team a couple of weeks ago. 

 

Aggie Coach Adams and Miner Coach Baker shared a hug before the game.  They’re apparently friends.  Coach Adams was in a rhinestone-studded jacket and high spike heels.  One of the female refs was wearing a mask.  If you’re wondering, she had her whistle in her mouth underneath it.  Behind the Aggie bench, I was fascinated by a beautiful young woman with a mythic-level of curly black hair on her head.  Just gorgeous.  You could get lost in it.

 

There was no Band for the game, though the Sundancers and Cheerleaders (and Pistol Pete) were there working hard.  The team had a new intro video with footage from their recent games.  I really liked the song.  It was an old-timey Western song that was mixed with a rap soundtrack.  I may have weird tastes.  Something I did not notice until later in the game, Sylena Peterson, who’s played well for the team, wasn’t there tonight.  I don’t know what’s happened to her.  She might be injured, but I don’t think I saw her on the bench.

 

First Quarter

I didn’t try to keep up with the scoring in the game, finally acknowledging that I didn’t have a scorecard.  The Miners started off in a full court press.  They also picked up two quick fouls before getting a basket.  Molly Kaiser scored the first points of the game for the Aggies.  Both teams were struggling to score playing a half-court offense.  Molly got a steal and the game opened up a bit and became more up tempo.  Four minutes in, Coach Adams subbed in three players.  She didn’t sub out all the starters like she was earlier in the season. 

 

Molly put up another basket.  She even stole the ball from a teammate.  Shania Harper grabbed a ball from a Miner and hit Moe for a layup.  Elina Arike for UTEP popped a 3.  She’s their big forward, but can shoot from the outside and can even make free throws.  The score was 8-10 Miners with 3 minutes left in the quarter going into a Media timeout.

 

The Aggies started beating the press pretty easily by passing down court.  Unfortunately, the refs kept hitting up both teams with travelling calls.  It was annoying.  I don’t know if I’m blaming the players, or if it’s like when the refs call a bunch of double touches in volleyball.  It depends on the crew how much it’s called.  Molly dropped a couple more jumpers.  N’Yah Boyd for UTEP shot a 3 that went all the way in and then spun out.   

 

Taylor Donaldson came up with a layup, drew the foul, and made the free throw for 3 points.  Molly made a pretty step-back jumper.  Taylor made exactly the same move for a shot at the buzzer.  Aggies were up 17-12 after 10 minutes.

 

Second Quarter

Molly was at 8 points.  Ene Adams came into the game for the Aggies.  I had not seen her playing before.  I wonder if she was a transfer.  She made a fake under the basket for a layup.  Arike matched Ene with a bucket down low.  Meanwhile, there were more travelling calls on both teams. 

 

Miner Avery Crouse hit a 3 to make it 19-19 with 6 minutes left in the quarter.  The Aggies took a timeout.  During the break, the Cheerleaders tossed t-shirts to the crowd.  (Not the one I had just gotten.)  A girl tried to toss one to an older guy, but it fell short and was intercepted by the guy below him.  The older guy made a show of being angry on camera.  (He didn’t mean it.  He was also wearing the giveaway hat from the last game, which I forgot to wear.)

 

Back to the action, Fama Thiam, wearing huge bandages on both her knees, found Ene under the basket for an easy bucket.  Ene also made a steal and passed to Soufia Inoussa for a layup.  Molly missed a shot, which was rare to this point, but got her own rebound, and then drew a foul on a last second shot.  She made the first free throw.  Suddenly, the refs gathered and hit Coach Baker up with a technical.  (I don’t know what he did or said.)  Molly proceeded to make the next three free throws.  Nails.

 

Fama next found Harper under the basket for two.  29-19 with 4 minutes left.  Molly picked up her second foul and came out.  As the Miners started coming back, Molly was inserted back in and got a layup.  Harper and Moe combined on a steal, but their fast break led to turnover, but led to a UTEP layup the other way.  It was 31-27 Aggies at the half.

 

Part 2 

Card Show: Very Vintage 1

Included in with mom's Postcard collection was an envelope with these little artifacts.  They're like little bitty greeting cards.  The first two here might actually be paper Christmas ornaments, or something else.  Honestly, I'm not quite sure what all these things are exactly, but I have a few posts worth of them and they're pretty.     

"A Merry Christmas."

A Pegasus.  Maybe an old  Mobil Oil logo?

I think this is a Valentine.  "From a fond heart."

And this is a Christmas one.  "Best Christmas Wishes.  May all your years be happy years unclouded by regret, and this the sweetest Christmastide that you have ever met."

Postcards from the Edge: Super-Sized 5

I saved these postcards for last.  These were really unexpected finds.  They are from Casablanca, Morocco.  I had an uncle in the Air Force who was stationed in Tripoli, Libya (yes, we used to have a Air Force base there), so I'm guessing he brought them back.

Making a loud noise in Morocco.  Moroccan Saying: God save you from the silent one--should he speak!  (I don't get it.)

Moroccan Taxi.  Moroccan Saying: Seeing food does not fill your stomach.  (This is true.)

Perfect flying in Morocco.  Moroccan Saying: If you desire honey, prepare to bear with the sting of the bees.  (Too true.)

We're here.  This is the last of the postcards.  I had no idea what I was biting off when I started this or if it would ever end.  In any case, it's been a kind of cool trip through the years going through these.  I don't know what me or dad will do with this collection, but it's good that they've at least been documented. 

Postcards from the Edge: Super-Sized 4

Reeds Motor Lodge, Springerville, Arizona.   

Dollar Inns of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  This postcard is the largest of the batch.  It's about 5" x 6."