NM State Aggies vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Women’s Basketball 12-31-22

Happy New Year’s Eve!  I was glad that Year End processing at the workplace went smoothly the night before.  Before going to work, I got to watch a great Sun Bowl between Pitt and UCLA.  Pitt won 37-25 on a field goal with four seconds left.  The lead changed twice in the last two minutes. 

 

Ron and I discussed what we were going to do on Saturday a couple of times.  The Aggie Women were playing Basketball in the afternoon.  The Men were playing right after and there were $10 tickets available.  But, the two College Football Playoff games were on at the same time.  We both wanted to watch the first game with TCU and Michigan.  I finally left it up to Ron and he picked the girls and we’d catch the second half of the football game.               

 

The first thing I did upon entering the Pan-Am Center was visit the merch kiosk for an Aggie Football championship t-shirt.  I did not need one more t-shirt in my closet, but if the Aggies are going to keep winning championships, I have to keep buying t-shirts.  The new kiosk is pretty convenient for shopping. 

 

We went into the stands about 20 minutes before the game and nobody was on court and nearly nobody in the stands.  The Southern Utah Thunderbirds came out briefly and left before the Anthem.  Nine players warmed up, though only eight played.  The Band and the Sundancers were still on vacation for this game.  Pistol Pete (one of the alternates) and a few Cheerleaders were here.  The crowd filled in right before the tip (607 in attendance).  There were a couple of people in the newly opened box seats and lounge. 

 

I admit that however the game went, I had a good time girl-watching.  There was a cute camera girl below us with a great haircut.  SUU’s coach, assistant coaches, and some of the players were tall, pretty blondes.  One of the ref’s had the severe look Teutonic blonde dominatrix.  (Nothing wrong with that, if you like that sort of thing.)  OMG!  Emerson, the marketing assistant goddess herself, suddenly appeared and looked hotter than ever.  I’d assumed she’d graduated and moved on.    

 

The team was running on a three-game winning streak.  Shania Harper had come back for a road game and had had a great performance.  Soufia Inoussa has recovered from her twisted ankle.  Moe Shida was unfortunately not with the team this afternoon.  She is admittedly one of my favorites.  Some of the team spent Christmas with Coach Adams.  The Coach was dressed conservatively this afternoon, but had her hair done up nice.

 

First Quarter

SUU is a pretty tall team.  The Aggies started Ashlee Strawbridge and Ene Adams, but neither were as tall as a couple of the T-Bird’s starters.  In spite of this, the Aggies out-rebounded SUU, especially on offensive rebounds.  On one possession, the Aggies got four offensive rebounds, but then turned it over on a travelling call.  Actually, the travelling calls were once again thick.  I didn’t even bother counting or noting all of them.  Ron felt it was certain refs overcalling it.  That said, if it’s going to be called, you gotta make sure you’re not doing it.

 

Another thing about those offensive rebounds, it meant the Aggies couldn’t get it in the basket.  After a couple of early shots, they went cold.  They were also picking up fouls early, but with a lot of subbing, at least they were being distributed around several players.  Harper got a steal on a bad pass and got a layup off it.  Molly Kaiser hit a 3 after getting an offensive rebound.  Right after, Taylor Donaldson got a steal and drew a foul.  16-13 Aggies after 10 minutes.

 

Second Quarter

When we were last here, Lucia Yenes had had a great game against Northern New Mexico.  She came in late in the first quarter.  She hit a jumper to start this quarter.  Ene gave her a great feed under the basket for a layup.  Lucia had the play of the game later in the quarter.  Sabou Gueye forced a turnover and Lucia came up with it.  She took off down court with Sabou and made a behind the back pass to her for the layup.  Yeah!  That got a rise out of the crowd.

 

Sabou also had a great no-look pass to Harper inside for a bucket.  Soufia made a cut to the basket and Ene found her for a basket.  Sabou and Sylena Peterson had steals.  The Aggies were up 30-20 with 3 minutes left.  However, the Aggies were still picking up fouls and travelling calls.  Thunderbird Samantha Johnson hit a late 3 with seconds left to make it 34-29 at the half.

 

During the quarter, PA Ed Carnathan’s mic went out and they had to quickly get him a backup.  AD Mario Moccia walked by me.  I said, “Hi,” and told him he did a good job and held up my new Football shirt.  On the other side of the court, a little girl in a cowboy hat with pom-poms was cheering her heart out.  It was too cute.  There was also a little toddler that kept getting away from her dad at courtside and kept wanting to wander on to court.      

 

Third Quarter

There was no halftime show, except for Emerson coming out to the sideline tables and setting them up for the fans that would be coming for the Men’s game.  I, at least, found that entertaining.  SUU came out and made two quick layups to get within a point.  Molly had a steal, blocked a layup and drew a foul, made a jumper, and had an assist to Ene to get the score to 40-34.

 

Molly was matched on the other side by Cherita Daugherty on the T-Birds.  She’d scored 10 points to this point and had a steal.  She tied it at 40 with a pair of free throws.  Sylena picked up her fourth foul while knocking a player down at midcourt.  Cherita picked up her third foul and Molly got two free throws from it.  Molly then got her third foul on an accidental bump.  At the end of the quarter, the Aggies got three offensive rebounds, but no points on a possession.  Cherita made a layup, but Taylor made a last second shot to make it 50-45.

 

Anita Skipper (Maxwell) came in and sat behind the press table to watch the game.  I pointed her out to Ron as Jack Nixon’s partner in calling Men’s games.  He didn’t seem impressed.  I later read off some of her accomplishments to him (all-time scoring leader Men or Women, only Aggie basketball player whose number has been retired Men or Women).  The Men’s Basketball team was also here watching.  They were in the empty Student Section.  (The Students are still on break.)  Their opponents, Sam Houston, were up near the concourse watching the game.     

 

Fourth Quarter

Chubby Checker’s Twist played during the break.  Aggie Marketing worked in a promotion with it.  They had a Senior Citizen hold a can of Twisted Tea (a sponsor) while doing the Twist.  Shameless, but amusing.

 

Early in, Cherita scored on a couple of free throws and finally put the T-Birds ahead on a layup, 51-50, with 7 minutes left.  Ashlee made an acrobatic, off-balance jumper to put the Aggies back up.  Megan Jenson on SUU fouled out.  Several players on both teams were in foul trouble, but she was the only one who fouled out. 

 

Cherita tied it at 53 on a layup with 4 minutes left and then put SUU in the lead with a jumper.  Taylor made a steal, but the Aggies missed three times on the trip down court.  Cherita hit another jumper.  Sylena made a scoop layup, drew a foul, and made the free throw to make it 57-56 SUU. 

 

The Aggies expended their last timeout with 34 seconds left, down 59-58.  Molly made a running shot with 5 seconds left that was blocked.  Taylor immediately fouled.  Two free throws later, it was 61-58 SUU.  Sylena took the final shot from beyond the arc at the buzzer and it just missed.  She doubled over in competitive pain afterward. 

 

Molly Kaiser led the Aggies with 18 points.  Shania Harper had 12.  Ene Adams had 10 rebounds.  For the T-Birds, Cherita Daugherty led everyone with 26 pts.  She played all 40 minutes.  Lizzy Williamson had 12 rebounds.  She’s a 6’5” blonde with very long legs.  The Aggies shot 35%.  The T-Birds shot 53%.  Neither team could hit a 3, going a combined 4 for 26.  The Aggies did finish with 18 offensive rebounds, which is either great or terrible, depending on how you want to look at it. 

 

It occurred to me that this was my fault.  I’d again forgotten to wear the souvenir hat that I’d gotten at the beginning of the season.  The girls went around the court to greet the fans, but were very dejected.  The Men came out to practice right after the game, which had probably run long.  Ron said later that we probably could have stuck around and watched the Men’s game for free.  I don’t know whether that would have worked out, but we did have other things to do.      

  

Specifically, we were hungry.  I made quick use of a McAlister’s gift card for Christmas to fix that.  (They’d remodeled their whole restaurant since the last time I’d been there.)  Over at my apartment, we watched a classic college game between TCU vs Michigan, which the Horned Frogs won 51-45.  This was followed by another classic, as Georgia beat Ohio State, 42-41, as the game was decided by a last-second missed field. 

 

We did listen to the Aggie Men’s Basketball game and that did not go well.  They lost 75-62 to Sam Houston and never really threatened them.  They’ve lost two conference games in a row on their home court.  This hasn’t happened in years.  Their off-court problems (including having a player that can only play home games due to legal issues) and Coach Heiar being new to head coaching at this level are their main problems.  With the Women, they’re so close to being good, but don’t seem to have the players or maybe the experience to finish with wins.  I think both teams will be better next year, even learning a new conference, but this is going to be a rough season.    

Comics Review: World of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics #21

“The Official Comic Book of Christmas,” is proudly proclaimed on the cover.  I agree.  I usually try to read my Archie Christmas comics with the season.  This year I mostly failed at doing any traditional rituals and nearly didn’t bother Christmas shopping.  Actually if it weren’t for a $500 bonus for my 20-th anniversary at work, I might not have done it.  The bonus was in the form of the use of a company credit card, so I had to spend it.  I purchased a new mattress which was overdue by . . . a very long time.  I spent the remainder on gifts for people at work, but I picked up this Archie digest for myself.

 

I’d seen this particular comic solicited online and was interested in it.  I’d gone to Barnes & Noble earlier in the week and didn’t find it on the rack, which put me in poor Christmas mood.  (I didn’t buy anything at the mall that day.)  It was there a couple of days later and Christmas was saved and I was filled with a generous spirit.  (Also, it was the day before Christmas Eve and I was kind of forced to start buying presents or start thinking up excuses.)

 

Cutting to the chase, unlike the last time I bought an Archie digest, I enjoyed this one and have no regrets over the purchase.  Christmas is right in Archie’s wheelhouse.  A while back I used the code on the inside of the cover of a digest for a free comic and I’ve been receiving them off-and-on for months.  In December, I not only got a monthly one, but a six-part Holiday Hijinks series every day leading up to Christmas.  The monthly one haven’t been great, but the Christmas series was a lot of fun.

There were three new stories to start the digest.  The first was a Betty and Veronica story by Dan Parent.  The next two were superhero stories.  Neither were Christmas-themed, so they were a little odd in the book.  Also, these were just played for laughs.

 

I looked up the characters, Captain Flag and Darkling, and they are old MLJ (Archie Comics original name) heroes from the 40’s.  This time, they are firmly in the Archie setting, interacting with Betty and Archie respectively.  In the solicitations, some more old heroes are being resurrected in other digests, so this is part of a concerted tryout effort.  They’re also putting out a Bob Phantom comic that’s more serious, but still in the Archie universe. 

 

I liked the stories here, but I also don’t quite know what to make of them.  Maybe they’ll produce more of these humorous superhero stories, though I don’t know where or how.  Archie publishes five digests regularly with very limited new material in four of them and a smattering of new floppies.  (My Barnes & Noble doesn’t carry the Showcase digest, the one I really like to get on a regular basis.)     

I thought the next story was also new, but I think it’s actually a recent reprint.  Would it be an Archie Christmas without a Jingles the Elf story?  Anyway, it’s cute.  Jingles was definitely a great addition to the Archie cast for the season (along with the Sugarplum Fairy).  He’s been around since the 60’s.

 

Next are a couple more Christmas stories featuring the girls (Betty and Veronica).  There’s a young (animated) Sabrina story.  It’s not set during Christmas, but is superhero-related in content.  It might be a winter story from the backgrounds.  It’s okay.  I wonder if they’ve lost the rights to all of the Sabrina stories featuring Melissa Joan Hart’s TV Sabrina, because I never see them reprinted.  However, the animated Sabrina was still produced by Hart’s company.   

A lot of the stories in the middle are not Christmas-themed or even set in winter.  There is a funny story at a ski lodge with some great physical humor as Veronica tries to upstage Betty.  Then there’s the pictured story above, where the girls try to seduce Dilton for a contest.  Let the ‘shipping begin.  (You know, he wouldn’t be a bad match for Veronica.  Dilton is surely going to be scientific mogul someday.)   

There is a long four-part Christmas story that is the centerpiece of the digest.  It’s sort of about Reggie and Jughead having a fight, but trying to be nice to each other in front of some kids.  I liked this oversized panel, though I’m not sure why there’s clowns at the kids’ Christmas party rather than Santa and some elves.    

Here’s a couple of other panels I liked.  It’s not my fault Betty was looking good in this digest.  Meanwhile, Veronica is in an odd story where Archie is working as a security guard, while his partner is chasing Veronica around a closed shopping mall.  In another story, Ronnie tries to keep Archie and Betty apart at Christmas, but ends up bringing them together.  It still works out for her.

 

Cheryl Blossom tries to join the Spice . . . err . . . Sugar Girls.  This was by Holly G!  I really like the stuff I’ve seen from her.  A couple other B&V Christmas stories finish off the volume. 

 

What can I say?  I don’t have many Christmas traditions and skipped nearly all of them this year, but I did take the time to read this digest and my favorite Archie comic (Betty & Veronica Spectacular #86).  They made me feel a little warmer towards the season. 

Money, Money, Money

I found these in little Manilla envelope addressed from General Mills with my name on them in Mom's stuff.  I mistakenly thought these were a cereal giveaway.  I showed them to dad and he said they were actually some money he'd accumulated while in the military serving in South Korea.  That explains the Military Payment Certificates and Korean note.    

Dad's not quite sure where the rest of these came from.  He might have got them while he was passing through Japan.  This one is from Indonesia.

These two are from Hong Kong.  I showed these to my co-worker, Mike.  He immediately remarked that he thought they might be valuable and started looking them up.  Indeed, a couple of these bills are.  When I handed them back to dad, he put them away in a safe place.  He might be looking to sell them to a collector. 

NM State Aggie Football Late Season Report 2022 Part 2

Part 1

 

12-26 vs Bowling Green Falcons in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field Detroit

Fans were excited about the possibility of the Aggies going to the Arizona Bowl again, or even better, the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.  However, NMSU’s agreements with those bowl game had lapsed.  It would have been another great showing by Aggie fans at either of those games.

 

Going into this game, the Aggies had lost their punter, Josh Carlson, to the transfer portal to go to ASU.  This was a little puzzling, though perhaps not given the opposition (more on that later).  He was did a good job here.  Thankfully, the team didn’t lose any other main starters.  The other issue was Diego Pavia.  Apparently his pulled hamstring (that’s what it seemed to be) was worse than we were told.  Luckily, he had three weeks to rest it.  They said on the broadcast he was 90%.  (And Bowling Green would have been in real trouble if he’d been 100%.)

 

Ron came over to my apartment and brought his laptop to watch the game on.  The official watch party was at Rudy’s Barbeque.  The theater at the mall next door was showing the game for free.  Buffalo Wild Wings, also next door, and a bunch of other restaurants in town were certainly showing it, too.  But never mind, Ron wanted to watch at my apartment with no meal or snacks. 

 

My main preparation for the game was rushing down to my dad’s apartment to get the Aggie throw pillow he got me for Christmas.  I’d forgotten it there yesterday.  (He also got me an Aggie rain poncho.  I sort of hope I won’t be using it.)  I asked if he wanted to come over and watch, and he grumbled that the Aggies didn’t deserve to be in a bowl and he wouldn’t watch.  Fine.  Back at home, I listened to the pregame show on the radio.  I was tempted to listen to the local game call with the ESPN video, but radio reception wasn’t great and syncing with the video would have been an issue. 

 

There was a quick TV pregame that we missed.  The crowd at Ford Field was excellent.  The weather in Detroit had been terrible, as a blizzard engulfed much of the nation, but thankfully not us in southern New Mexico.  Outdoor activities for the team were limited before the game.  Indoors, there was no problem with the weather. 

 

Bowling Green is only an hour from Detroit, so they made up most of the 23,000 in attendance.  There were Aggie fans there.  NMSU was also selling commemorative tickets.  The university would give away the seats to kids for the game.  AD Mario Moccia said they would likely be losing considerable money sending the team, the spirit squads, and the band to the game, but it was worth it for the publicity.  They ran at least four NMSU commercials during the game.  In addition, they got Pistol Pete on camera.  If that doesn’t promote the university, what will?

 

First Quarter

Defensive star, Trevor Brohard, picked a great time for his first college interception.  On BG’s first series, Brohard came up big.  Quarterback Diego Pavia took over from there.  He hit Justice Powers for 42 yards on a third and long and Pavia ran on another third and 9.  Diego then hit Star Thomas for the touchdown.  7-0 Aggies.

 

I’d hate to put this as the pivotal play of the game, but on BG’s next series, their quarterback, Matt McDonald was hit by Dylan Early after he’d stepped out of bounds on a keeper.  At best I can say is that Early had his head down and might not have seen him go out, but it looked like a cheap shot.  McDonald flipped over and hit his head on the sidelines.  He came out the game, not to return.  There was a sad scene later when McDonald’s father was consoling him on the sidelines.  Even with the penalty, the BG drive stalled with the backup in, including a sack.  A 51-yard field goal missed.   

 

Second Quarter

BG got some revenge on the next Aggie series.  Pavia scrambled up the middle for the first down and took a cheap hit by Chris Bacon while taking a slide.  The penalty helped the drive.  Pavia found Eric Marsh on a short pass for a touchdown to make it 14-0.  BG came back with another drive and a missed field goal from 40 yards out.  Late in the half, Pavia was intercepted throwing on fourth down on the BG side of the field.  It was Bacon again making the play.  Pavia came off limping, but was okay for the rest of the game.   

 

Third Quarter

The Aggies first possession of the second half featured Jonathan Brady making a great 37-yard rush.  Dear God, Pavia was blocking for him downfield.  This young man was going to do whatever to win today.  Ethan Albertson hit a 35-yard field goal to make it 17-0 Aggies. 

 

The joy was short-lived.  Ta’ron Keith ran back the short kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, 17-7.  I could hear Coach Kill groaning from here.  I had listened to an interview with him before the game and he’d obsessed over special team’s play.  He’d blamed a couple of previous bowl losses squarely on kicking issues.  Later in the quarter, Ahmonte Watkins blew through the BG line for 45-yard touchdown run to make it 24-7.  The Coach probably felt a little better.

 

Fourth Quarter

The final act of this drama started with 49-yard BG field goal to make it 24-10.  (BG did lose a player on the drive.  He was ejected for taunting, which involved grabbing the other player’s face mask.)  The Aggies started playing conservative on offense and gave the ball right back.  On BG’s next drive, Brohard forced a fumble, but it was recovered by BG.  A couple of plays later in the red zone, Chris Ojoh forced another fumble, recovered by Syrus Dumas. 

 

The Aggie offense was once again a bit tentative, which resulted in a punt from their own endzone.  I should mention here that Bowling Green has nation-leading kick-blocking unit.  (Maybe this is why Carlson dipped out of this game.)  Davion Daniels broke through and blocked the punt.  George Eberle, who I hadn’t heard of before this game, did have the presence of mind to fall on the ball for a safety, rather than allowing a touchdown.  24-12 and BG would be getting the ball back.  An assistant coach wrestled a pistol away from Coach Kill, who was pointing it as his own head.

 

BG backup QB, Camden Orth, led the Falcons to a quick touchdown to make it 24-19.  The Aggies got the ball back with 6:27 left on the clock.  BG had all three timeouts.  The Aggies went conservative again on their play calling.  What happened?  BG never got the ball back.  The Aggies converted on four third downs, two of them were long.  Pavia ran for three of them.  (He even fumbled the ball on one of the runs, but recovered it.)  Ron and I were barely breathing while watching these clutch plays.            

 

Aggies win 24-19!  Diego Pavia was your MVP.  His stats weren’t overwhelming only because they don’t measure heart.  Coach Kill got first bowl win in six attempts.  I did not know that he was winless in bowls before the game.  I also looked up the odds afterward.  Bowling Green was only a 3.5 point favorite.  It was a pretty even match up.  The Aggies are only FBS team undefeated in bowl games at 4-0-1.  However the main stat I kept hearing was 0-4, which was how the team started their season.   

 

I called dad to rub it in.  He was down at the river and had been listening to the game on the radio.  He was glad for the win.  Ron had tried to be cool while watching the game and had said, “Oh, they’re going to give it away,” but he was jumping up and cheering on big plays and diving for loose balls like I was.  We were both drained at the end of the game during that last drive.  There was barely a “Yay!”  It was mostly a “Whew!” 

 

There was no postgame.  ESPN dumped it off on to ESPN+.  Like there was anything else going on today in sports.  (There wasn’t.  This was the only bowl game.)  I flipped back on the radio, but there weren’t any postgame interviews there either.  I had to get those later off of the team Twitter.  Ron and I took off for KFC for chicken sandwiches, which were great and tasted even better with a side of victory.

 

Lastly, my dad got this great New Mexico Christmas card from a friend this year, who also gave me an Albuquerque Isotopes shirt.  I thought this would be a nice way to end the post.

 

NM State Aggie Football Late Season Report 2022 Part 1

That's the "good play" hat they wear on the sidelines

Okay, that’s not the best title.  It’s late and I’m not feeling creative (though I am happy).  While I’m here to cover the Aggies’ bowl win (spoilers), I kind of have go over what happened leading up to that win. 

For this season, I’ve been to three games.  There was the disappointing and very late night opening game versus Nevada (8-27-22).  There was an impressive win over Hawaii (9-25-22).  Finally, there was the disastrous game against FIU (10-1-22). 

 

I covered some of their other games (briefly).  9-10-22 the Aggies lost to UTEP, who would later in the season blow a 24-point lead to UTSA that would eliminate them from bowl eligibility.  (I actually listened to that game.)  10-15-22 the Aggies beat the Lobos.  I watched the Tennessee/Alabama game with my dad instead (no regrets).  This game was mentioned as the turning point in the Aggies’ season.  Strangely, it was also a turning point in the Men’s Basketball season, as a fight in the stands led to a revenge shooting in Albuquerque.  (Too sorted a tale to go into here.) 

 

11-12-22 the Aggies thrashed FCS school, Lamar, while I was at Volleyball.  11-19-22 the Aggies lost, as expected, to Missouri.  What was unexpected was that I was listening to the game, instead of Men’s Basketball, which was cancelled (see above).  So, the Aggies had had an up-and-down season to this point.  They had shown some encouraging signs, but not impressed.  Then came the game against Liberty. 

11-26-22 vs Liberty Flames

This was an early game on Saturday morning.  I was expecting a loss here, as Liberty had been in the Top 25 earlier in the season, including a road win at Arkansas.  I found out later that the Aggies were 24-point underdogs.  I joined the game after it had started and pleasantly found the Aggies leading, 21-7.  They’d gotten an interception that led to a score. 

 

From there, Liberty basically self-destructed.  They had two fumbles and a bunch of dumb penalties.  The Aggies kept cashing in.  Meanwhile, the Aggie defense played out of its mind.  When the dust settled, it was a 49-14 Aggie victory.  I’d never heard Jack Nixon and Cory Lucas so happy calling the game.  I was right there with them.  This was the happiest I’d been with Aggie Football since their 2017 bowl win. 

 

Quarterback Diego Pavia had 200 yards passing, 100 yards rushing, 3 passing touchdowns, and 3 rushing touchdowns.  He won several national awards for his performance.  Coach Kill had finally found his quarterback.

12-3-22 vs Valparaiso Crusaders . . . err . . . Beacons

Their name was changed for the typical bad reasons you can guess.  Jack Nixon used both throughout the game.  FCS Valpo had to request a waiver from the NCAA to play this game.  They were the best AD Mario Moccia could find at this late date to make up for the San Jose State game that was canceled for the death of one of their players.  SJS wouldn’t commit to a makeup game.  They were already bowl-eligible and didn’t need to play the game.

 

NMSU won their own NCAA waiver the same week.  Their record was 5-6 and they couldn’t find an FBS opponent to play them, so they were granted bowl-eligibility.  Apparently, 5-7 teams have gotten in when there weren’t enough teams for all the bowl games.  This game with Valpo wasn’t meaningful, since the Aggies had already played an FCS team and it wouldn’t help their record.  But, the university wanted to give the season ticket holders a game and the seniors a Senior Day.

 

I was planning on going to the game.  Unfortunately, Ron was out sick.  I was still going to go, but the wind and some sprinkles started just before I was going to leave.  I decided I’d listen on the radio, instead.  I felt bad about it.  There were 14,000 fans there in spite of the weather anyway.

 

This was Valpo’s first game against an FBS team.  They also didn’t have any scholarship athletes.  It all showed.  Diego Pavia had 200 yards passing after the first quarter.  He did pull up lame running downfield for a touchdown that was called back.  I was worried about him, but he was okay.  Pavia was only planning on playing a half anyway.  He finished with 4 touchdowns and 300 yards passing (and got more national recognition later).  It was 35-3 at the half.  Valpo had only scored off a long field goal facilitated by a couple of dumb personal fouls.

        

The final score was 65-3 Aggies.  Don’t feel too bad for Valpo.  They were paid to come here.  On their team Twitter, the team had nice time hiking in the mountains here and had a good meal at a nice local restaurant.  Moccia was already happy before the game.  “We’ve won five games this season.  Over the last five years, our team was 5-22.”  One of the Aggie players proposed to his girlfriend after the game to make it romantic as well. 

 

Next up, the Aggies go bowling.

 

Part 2

Card Show: Very Vintage 5 Envelopes

These were some of the envelopes for the little cards.  (I'm not sure which one went with each card.)  This first one is from 1923.

 

This one from 1936.  The postage for 1 1/2 cents features President Warren G. Harding.  

"Found these in Mama's old trunk."  I think that's Grandma's writing.

Lastly, this envelope is from 1925.  

"Inous thought you might want this.  The stamps anyway.  She didn't know who it could be from."  I'm translating this from the phonetic spelling.  This was probably Grandma's writing talking about Aunt Inous.

  

NM State Aggies vs NNM Eagles Women’s Basketball 12-20-22 Part 2

 

Part 1

 

Halftime

AD Mario Moccia chatted with Coach Adams as she came off court with the team.  Odd time for a conversation.  The girl dance team, Venom, took the court to perform.  The Sundancers went into stands to cheer the girls on.  It was a gangster-themed dance number.  They did a chorus line kick as part of the routine.  At the end, they strutted off court in formation.  The Sundancers gave them an enthusiastic round of the applause.  (The Cheerleaders weren’t paying attention to the performance.)  Mario went over to chat with Adam Young doing the broadcast, probably talking about the Football bowl game coming up.  The video board played a montage of scenes from Christmas films.    

 

Soufia Inoussa limped out on court to warmup, but quickly sat down, clearly unhappy.  She spent the rest of the game with her injured foot in a bucket of ice on the sidelines. Coach Adams came out and chatted with an older couple on the sidelines.  I don’t know who they are, but they seemed important.  The Eagles didn’t come out to warmup and didn’t show on court until the horn sounded.  The refs looked worried for minute.

  

Third Quarter

55-22 Aggies to begin play.  Miranda Salazar on the Eagles took an early spill when play started.  6’1” Ashlee Strawbridge helped up her 5’3” opponent with one hand.  (We won’t discuss the weight difference because these are ladies.)  Moe Shida picked up her third foul a minute in and came out.  I was hoping to see more of her.  Ashlee made a nice move in the paint for a scoop layup.  Eagle Ethena Silva made a layup and picked up a foul, which was Molly Kaiser’s third.

 

Miranda stole the ball right out of Fama Thiam’s hands.  Molly blocked a coast-to-coast layup attempt.  Sianny Sanchez-Oliver made a nice pass to Tayelin Grays for a layup.  It was 64-26 Aggies at the Media timeout with five minutes left.  We almost lost a Cheerleader on a shaky lift.  Play resumed, but in less than a minute, another Media timeout was called.  The Cheerleaders came back out to perform, but looked tired.

 

Lucia Yenes made a layup, her 13-th point.  Ethena, who is 6’, made a block on Ene Adams, 6’1”.  Kylira Williams hit a three for NNM.  66-28 with two minutes left.  The Aggies switched out all five players again.  Short-benched NNM, sat out Ethena.  Molly hit a three before the end of the quarter.  Eagle Briana Marquez took a half-court shot at the buzzer that hit the rim.  71-32 Aggies.

 

Fourth Quarter

With the last Aggie score, the Raising Cane’s Challenge was unlocked.  I think some of the fans left early for chicken.  Ron and I had other lunch plans.  The Cheerleaders and the Sundancers had an informal dance competition to Chubby Checker’s Twist.  (The Sundancers won that one.) 

 

Briana worked a dribble around a couple of Aggie defenders for a layup.  This time all the Aggie fans applauded the opposition without shame.  Moe was back in and banked one off the glass for two.  Molly made a steal and a layup.  Then, Moe had the ball stolen from her by Kylira.  Tayelin ran back to block the layup. 

 

Lucia scored her 15-th point off the glass.  Tayelin hit a three and the Aggie bench erupted for her.  Ethena got a block on her next shot.  80-36 at the Media timeout with four minutes left.  There was a hat toss into the stands by the Cheerleaders.  Pistol Pete walked a hat over the couple that the Coach was talking to earlier.  They must be important.  One of the Aggie trainers went over to chat with Soufia and got a smile out of her.

 

Tayelin made two layups and had 14 points.  Moe and Sylena Peterson passed the ball back-and-forth in the paint for the bucket.  The crowd and the bench enjoyed the show.  Sylenna tried it again on the next possession and passed it right to an Eagle player under the basket.  Lucia hit a jumper and made a layup for her final points.  90-42 Aggies was the final.  It was good this game ended when it did.  The crowd was actively rooting for NNM by the end.

           

Our Aggie star of the game was a surprising Lucia Yenes with 19 points.  She’s a bench player, so hopefully this performance gives and her and the Coach more confidence in her abilities.  Tayelin Grays came up with 14 points and 3 blocks.  Molly Kaiser had 11 points and 3 steals.  Ene Adams had 8 points and 7 rebounds.  For the Eagles, Briana Marquez scored 16, Ethena Silva had 9 points with 6 rebounds, and Miranda Salazar had 4 steals and 7 points.  I admit, I liked their grit.  Lastly, the Aggies went 3 of 10 on 3’s, and 5 of 5 on free throws.

 

Our lunch plans involved exploiting the Ruby Tuesday Tuesday Lunch Special, in this case, $6 cheeseburgers with fries.  It wasn’t just a great deal, it was a great burger.  However, the service was terrible, not to mention, the restaurant was undergoing renovation construction at the same time.  Holiday traffic getting there on a very busy one-lane road was also a deterrent.    

 

As long as we were in the general area, Ron was nice enough to take me by mattress store.  I was given a company credit card with $500 as my 20-th anniversary bonus.  I needed a new mattress, so that was an easy decision.  The service was also questionable here, but the deal was once again great.  I’d have to go back in a couple of days to pick it up. 

 

Well, what do you know?  This place was right next to Dairy Queen.  We went over for Blizzards, which I found disappointingly runny.  (The clerk did hold it upside down and I’m surprised it didn’t fall out.)  I also talked Ron into going by the used bookstore to get something for dad for Christmas before the store closed.  It was a busy afternoon.  Good thing we both got in a nice nap at the mattress store.