NM State Aggies vs CSU-Bakersfield Roadrunners Soccer 10-6-17

And it’s Game #2 of the week for me and the girls.  After Monday’s game (10-2-17), I heard Coach Freddy Delgado on the Aggie Coaches’ Show.  He had a huge amount of praise for goalie Dmitri Fong, calling her the best in conference.  No argument from me.  He also said they were really happy with attendance.  You’re welcome.  And to add a postscript to Monday’s game, the coach said he was using a lot of reserve players for that game. 

According to today’s program, that game had 390 in attendance, which wasn’t bad for a Monday afternoon.  This Friday afternoon game, which was the conference opener versus CSU-Bakersfield, was much better attended.  [Edit: Official attendance had the Friday game at 250, a count which fails the eyeball test with me.  If it’s correct, who were they counting at that Monday game?  The birds?]  In fact, I was bit shocked, as this did start at 3:00.  The main grandstand was pretty much full.  There were only a handful of kids.  Even without them, the out-of-bounds balls were being taken care of better than last time.  A couple of little kids took to waving their team posters at rail of the grandstand to cheer on the players.  This was a noisy bunch too.  Bakersfield brought some fans, so there was a lot of cheering going on all the time.  It was nice.  Angry Mom and Angry Dad were either not there or muffled.    

I feel like my notes on the game are a bit sparse.  A nice senior lady named Marty was seated in front of me and was pretty sociable with everyone around her.  I was glad for the company, which was more important than scribbling notes.  She had met four of the girls wearing their team shirts at her work.  They’d invited her to today’s game.  There’s some productive community outreach.

Another older fellow was nearby who used to a referee.  He said he didn’t know anything about soccer before he started.  Well, this explains a lot.  Actually, he was very insightful.  He could see clearly what the teams should have been doing on offense and questioned the coaching.  Certainly he was probably right, but from watching some other games, it’s clearly a lot easier to see these things from the stands than playing in the field.  When asked about fan jeering, he said that the referees don’t hear it.  Okay.          

Certainly it was nice enough to attract a crowd.  After a nasty thunderstorm last night (which apparently tore down part of the NM State Soccer sign on the wall), it was warm and sunny with a light breeze.  The Aggies were in pink, which really confused me at times.  Aileen Galicia and Cristina Bertoldo were back in to start.  Cristina had plenty of fans in the stands.  Audriana “Audrey” Chavez was out, not surprising given her injury in the last game.

First Half

One minute in, before anybody’s even gotten settled, the Roadrunners scored.  It was very well executed.  Dmitri came out to stop the attack, but on the rebound, it was an easy kick in by Aminah Settles, 1-0 Roadrunners.  Mentally, I was worried I was in for a thrashing.  38’ left in the half, Aileen rushed the Bakersfield net was two defenders in front of her and took a shot.  Angry Mom in the stands never has to tell Aileen to “Shoot it!”  Devin Hart and Jody Hernandez combined on another attack at 37’.  34’ a military Osprey flew overhead.  It didn’t sound like anything else.  It was coming from Fort Bliss, not sure where it was going.  Okay, I thought that was pretty cool.  We’ll call it a late Anthem flyover. 

The Aggies got a couple of corner kicks.  Rebecca Mazzie got a good shot from outside the box at 27’.  18’ Aileen had a one-on-one with the goalie.  The Roadrunners regrouped and made three attacks starting at 17’, one on a turnover.  Dmitri turned them away.  On two of the attacks, Aileen ran all the way back down the field to disrupt to the attacks, one of which would have been a one-on-one with the goalie. 

13’ there was disputed foul which left both sets of fans complaining.  Later, a foul was called for Bakersfield and one of their fans yelled out, “Thanks for joining us!”  10’ Aileen made another 1 vs 2 attack on goal.  5’ Cristina took a shot on a free kick.  The Roadrunners attacked for the rest of the half.  4’ Kelly Burton had a good kick out of the box.  Dmitri then made a jump save on another attack.  Bakersfield had a pair of corners.  One led to a header over the net.  The other corner shot went behind the net.  A ball went into the stands to end the half.

Halftime

Shots on goal were Aggies 4, Roadrunners 6.  A collection was taken up for Puerto Rico hurricane relief.  Tuti Tirado on the team is from there and plays for their national team.  It didn’t hurt that a couple of pretty staff members were taking up the collection.  There was a bike giveaway also.  Boy, they’ve got some prizes to give.  Two ladies on opposite sides of the stands were screaming and dancing for it. 

Second Half

44’ the Aggies made a charge at the Bakersfield net right at the start.  42’ Dmitri made a stop.  She was getting really vocal with the team.  39’ Aileen rushed the Roadrunner goalie, who smothered the attack.  38’ a Bakersfield attack just missed, but a second attack created a scrum in front of the net.  A defender tried to clear the ball out, but Jordan Martinez was able to kick it in as Dmitri dove for it, 2-0 Roadrunners. 

Well, things looked bad.  36’ Aileen took it down for another solo attack.  She is relentless.  34’ there was a dangerous back pass to Dmitri.  She handled it, no problem.  Those things make me nervous.  26’ Samantha Afonso, who goes by “Fonzi”, took a shot from outside the box.  28’ there was an injury on the far side of the field.  Both teams immediately went to the sidelines for a drink.  24’ Dmitri made a punch save.  17’ the game took a rough turn, as the girls started fighting near the stands over the ball.  The crowd, and myself, loved it.  (We really shouldn’t encourage that.)  Aileen came out with ball and took another shot. 

8’ finally, after an assist by Jody, Aileen put it in on a breakaway, 2-1 Roadrunners.  That’s all Aileen really needs; somebody feeding her the ball, instead of trying to do it all herself.  Aileen then attacked the goalie fielding a pass right after.  The Aggies attacked furiously in the closing minutes.  6’ Rebecca took a shot.  3’ Jody passed to Aileen for another shot.  2’ Devin to Aileen.  Gooooooooal!  It was beautiful.  That was probably the loudest I’ve heard the soccer stadium get cheering.  2 all.  Dmitri blocked a last second shot to send it to overtime.

First Overtime

The announcer was really into it while explaining the rules.  We were all excited, fans on both teams.  Devin and Aileen hugged out on the field during the break.  I think I saw Audrey out there congratulating them.  She wasn’t dressed to play, but she was able to walk on her own.  The Aggies had one chance with Aileen making a good pass across the net, but no one was there to finish.  Bakersfield got off two shots in the last minute; one over the net and one saved by Dmitri.  About halfway through, Jody got laid out on her back, but managed to keep playing.

Second Overtime

Birds attempted to take the field, but wisely decided instead to hang out behind the north goal.  8’ the Roadrunners got a shot that just went high.  6’ Jess McDow got a shot on goal on a free kick outside the box.  3’ Bakersfield took shot just in front of the net, but sent it over the goal.  1’ the Roadrunners had a wide open shot, but Dmitri stopped it and saved the match.  Aileen took a final Aggie shot with less than a minute.  And we end tied: Aggies 2, Roadrunners 2.                 

I would have felt cheated with a tie, but it was fairly exciting.  The Aggies probably should have lost today, but Aileen’s efforts and Dmitri’s stops kept them in it.  Marty went to the field to say “Hi” to the girls.  She asked me earlier if she’d like her to introduce me to them.  I guess going over to give some congratulations would have been order, but I felt a bit shy about it.  I’ll wait and see if they do another autograph session or something like that.  Afterward, unfortunately, no baseball training was going on that I could tell.  The baseball coach invited people to see their inter-squad games, but didn’t mention what time they started at.  Oh, well.  That’s enough for today (except for the sports I’d be watching on TV later).    

Sports Journal October 4-5, 2017

10-4-17

The opening news item on today’s El Paso Sports Talk show was that soccer goddess, Alex Morgan, had tweeted out an apology for her and her teammates behaving badly at a restaurant at Walt Disney World.  Part of me was thinking, This is your top sports story?  The other part was thinking, What could be more important than an Alex Morgan story?  But that might just be me (and the guy doing the news).  This woman is directly responsible for me showing up at Aggie soccer matches and watching women’s soccer on television.  I can’t imagine her behaving badly in public, given what a role model she knows she is to little girls, but nobody’s perfect.  I still love you, Alex!

On that note, the Stadium Network was showing men’s college soccer this evening, which was 100% less interesting than the girls.  (You Stadium guys still owe me a volleyball match.)  More importantly, the NL Wild Card game was on between the Rockies and Diamondbacks.  It was an epic game.  Unfortunately, reception was again a bit iffy, not to mention, I’m on vacation.  I didn’t try to keep notes during the game, which was too bad.  The D-Backs got an early lead and piled on to a 6-0 lead by the third.  The Rockies came with a vengeance in the fourth with four runs and knocked Zach Greinke out of the game.

But Rockies’ pitching just couldn’t shutdown Arizona.  In the seventh, Diamondbacks’ relief pitcher, Archie Bradley tripled in two runs.  I think that’s a good indicator of the quality of Rockies’ pitching.  In the eighth, Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story homered back-to-back, but Arizona tacked on three more runs in the eighth.  The Rockies still managed a run in the ninth, but 11-7 D-Backs was the final.  I flipped on KOA out of Denver for the post-game.  Annoyingly, the reception was decent there, so I should have had them on after dark.  In interviews, the players were disappointed, but they all thought it was a great game to have played in.               

10-5-17

Okay, this wasn’t funny at some point.  I lost my slip of paper where I’d written my TV viewing schedule for Thursday and Friday.  Now, I wasn’t exactly lost.  I sort of remembered what was coming up.  The Stadium Network’s schedule isn’t up on the Internet, so it wasn’t even complete.  But where was it!  I don’t live in a large apartment.  I turned the place upside down looking for it.  Late in the night, there was a storm going and I was lying down, trying to sleep, and all I could think was: Where is it!  

Lucky I remembered The Orville was on tonight.  I’d seen the premiere and hadn’t been hugely impressed.  Then I saw STD (or Star Trek: Discovery).   Other people who’d seen both, said Orville was the real Star Trek.  Tonight at least, I agree, it was.  Wonky physics, techno-babble, ray guns, spaceships, weird aliens, yep, it hit all the checkboxes.  Having Charlize Theron on as a guest star didn’t hurt.  Seriously, this was Star Trek: The Next Generation with some good humor tossed in.  I thought this would just be a parody series, but, no, it’s legit.  (I was looking forward to a faux Star Trek meets an ersatz Star Wars episode.  Oh, the gags that could go into that one.  That could be a whole series by itself.)  I can’t believe Seth MacFarlane has been able to control himself long enough to make some quality material.  I can hear his pitch to the network now.  “Hey Fox, I wanna do a copyright infringe-y Star Trek fan series, where I’m the captain and I bang hot chicks every week.”  “It’s your world, Seth.  Run with that.”

Elsewhere (namely the Stadium Network), the Colorado State Rams played the Boise State Broncos in women’s volleyball.  It was another trip to Boise (9-15-17).  The crowd was a bit smaller and the bleachers behind the service line were gone, but there were still probably close to 1,000 people in the gym.   These teams’ meeting last year late in the season had 1,400 there.  The Broncos had their band there and the crowd was mostly in white for a “White Out.”

Colorado State has an impressive pedigree in the Mountain West: 210-32, 7 championships in a row, and hadn’t dropped a set for several matches this season.  This Boise State reeling off two set wins to start the match was pretty impressive.  The first was close at 25-20.  The Broncos dominated the second 25-11.  The next two sets showed that it wasn’t going to be that easy.  The Rams took the third 25-23 and the fourth 25-19.  Both times, the Rams were ahead by quite a bit, but Broncos came back and made it close.  The fifth set was suitably epic.  CSU went up by three, but BSU came back and tied it at 11 with a pair of aces.  They tied again at 14 and 15.  In extra points, the Rams won the 16-15 point that was so long that the crowd stopped cheering and was holding their breath on it.  CSU finally took the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.  That was some good volleyball.     

In baseball, Jose Altuve hit three home runs to help the Astros and Justin Verlander beat Chris Sale and the Red Sox, 8-2.  You think Altuve wants it bad?  And, the Indians beat the Yankees, 4-0.     

Sports Journal October 1-3, 2017

10-1-17

The Rangers’ last game wasn’t picked up today on the El Paso affiliate, so I missed all the baseball today.  I did see a little bit on The Rally on the Stadium Network.  At the Royals’ last game, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar, and Lorenzo Cain were all taken off the field together.  With all these guys about to become free agents, it was a nice way to let the fans in Kansas City give them one more round of applause as a unit.  The best clip of the day was of Sergio Romo, now with the Rays, sitting in with the ball boys on the foul line.  With everything decided for the playoffs, all the pressure was off for most of the teams.  Without a ballgame to listen to, I came in a bit late, but watched Stadium’s Mountain West coverage of the Nevada Wolfpack versus the Colorado College Prowlers in Women’s Soccer. 

Yes, I’m really doing this.  Yes, I’ve said repeatedly that I don’t like soccer (and, spoilers, this match did not improve my disposition).  No, I wasn’t going to cover football anyway, regardless of the protests.  Yes, I’m still mad. 

This match was held on the Nevada’s football field with both teams looking for their first conference win.  A soccer pitch is apparently the same length, but wider.  Lines were drawn along the sidelines outside the football sidelines and boxes were drawn on the field.  It was a bit awkward.  Not to mention, the large stands on the far side of the field and the endzones were completely empty.  No crowd shots were done, much like last time (9-24-17), nor any crowd noise.  The game was played in something of an out-of-place void.  More frustrating was the camera work.  It was like watching the game from a blimp.  An occasional, medium range shot was mixed in, but no close-ups.  Hey, you think I’m not watching women’s soccer for some sex appeal?     

At least the match had a couple of enthusiastic, passionate Wolfpack fans calling the game.  They were quite knowledgeable too.  This definitely helped the broadcast.  I’ve wanted a radio broadcast at Aggie soccer matches, but upon reflection, I doubt soccer over the radio is a good idea.  There’s not usually enough scoring.  As visual and quick as basketball and volleyball are, there’s at least plenty of scoring.  (It occurs to me that somebody scores on every point in volleyball.)  If somebody was going to do it for the Aggies, they’re going to have to be really good at it and happy to be doing it. 

The most exciting event in the first half was a Nevada girl, Meriwether (didn’t catch her first name), doing a couple of flip throw-ins (doing a forward flip, while holding the ball overhead).  Though basically unnecessary, I have to admit, that looked pretty cool.  (If I saw that at an Aggie match, I’d probably spit my drink through my nose.  The coach might also freak out.)  It was also mentioned that Colorado College (Denver?) only plays in the Mountain West in soccer.  I’d wondered about that, since I’d never heard of them before.  We were scoreless after 45 minutes.  There was no halftime show, but there was a promo for Nevada sports featuring one of the soccer girls and, I think, their coach.  The coach was Asian and the player looked about two feet taller than her.  It was an odd picture. 

The second half was the tale of Nevada keeper, Lauren Horsedaniel (I hope that name’s right, because I’m not going to bother looking it up).  During the first half, one of announcer guys was clearly in love with her (or at least her skills).  In the second half, this adulation was entirely justified.  Nearly the entire half was spent in on the Nevada side of the field, with Lauren making save after save.  “Not in my home!” one of my announcers said.  Also, the referee called nothing, thus in a scoreless match between desperate teams and under a hot sun, the girls got chippier and chippier with each other.  This culminated at 9’ left in the half, when three different girls hit the deck inside of a minute.  Still scoreless at the end of regulation.

In the first overtime (doesn’t that sound ominous after watching nobody score for an hour and a half), Nevada finally managed to mount some offense and make a game of it.  However, with 46 seconds left, Colorado College got an open shot from outside the box into the top shelf.  Lauren had no chance on it.  She’d had 13 saves to that point.  1-0 Colorado College over Nevada.  This was a lot like that last match I watched, only longer.  I have to say the game call has been the best thing about these two matches I’ve seen.  I just wish the camera-work was better.

10-3-17

Let’s watch some more women’s college soccer, mostly because the women’s volleyball match that the Stadium Network advertised, never actually came on.  Tonight’s match was under the lights between the Princeton Tigers and the Bucknell Bison.  The field was well-lit, but everything beyond the field was pitch black.  Again, no idea of the crowd, but at least the cameras, while at times obstructed by a stadium not designed to accommodate them, mixed in some closer shots with the long shots.  The announcers were again really good and passionate, though the sound would occasionally drop out. 

Both teams were incredibly quick.  The “ponytails were flying” as the announcers said.  The speed was amazing compared to what I’ve seen.  Maybe it was because it was at night, instead of the heat of the day.  In any case, either team would have literally run over the Aggies or any of their opponents that I’ve seen.  Princeton scored three times in the first half and a final goal in the last 30 seconds of the match for a 4-0 win.  The Bucknell goalie was not bad, just overwhelmed.  She even stopped a one-on-one,    point-blank shot.  The team is part of the Patriot League, which did the broadcast.  For halftime, they did a league sports update.  The host was named Morgan Uber, an oddly topical name.

KROD carried the first Wild Card playoff game tonight, which was cool, except that I missed the first hour listening to the Aggie Coaches’ Show, also the reception was bad later and I couldn’t really hear anything, and the Yankees beat the Twins 8-4.  Luis Severino was chased early by three Twins’ runs, but Yankees had no problem recovering.  Didi Gregorious, Brett Gardner, and Aaron Judge all homered.  Miguel Sano wasn’t playing for the Twins and Byron Buxton was injured during the game making a great catch.  Neither of these guys would probably change places with Yankees’ catcher, Gary Sanchez, who took a foul ball directly in the nuts.  Thanks to The Rally on the Stadium Network for the recap.  You can tell these guys aren’t ESPN or Fox Sports Radio, since they make no apologies for talking about baseball every night.    

NM State Aggies vs Arizona Christian Firestorm Soccer 10-2-17

I’m on another vacation week.  While I’m off until next Tuesday, the Aggie Soccer girls will be working their tails off with three games in seven days, of which I hope to attend all of them.  In honesty, I didn’t pick this week for the soccer.  The soccer scheduling was just a coincidence.  Otherwise, I probably would have picked a week with a mid-week volleyball game.      

It was a beautiful day without literally a cloud in the sky.  The announced game time temperature was 87 degrees.  It was warm, but a steady, light breeze kept it from being miserable.  The 2:00pm start put the sun behind the stands and easy to cover up from.  It was a light crowd of friends, family, hardcore fans (is that me now?), and the old man.  Mario Moccia said on the Coaches’ show that the soccer team had already exceeded attendance goals for the season, probably due mostly to having 1,600 fans hosting UTEP and UNM.  

I have to admit there were several handsome young men there.  Movie star handsome even.  They may have been with the baseball team.  (I thought I heard some hitting going on at the nearby ballpark when I came in.)  A couple of members of the softball team were there.  I hesitate to name them, since I might be wrong.  It wasn’t Kelsey Horton or Kayla Green, which might have motivated me to go over and chat.  There weren’t any kids present.  This had the bad side effect of not having any ball kids to shag the balls down, especially behind the goals.  At one point, a goalie had to go get a ball that went up the hill behind the north goal.  The referee had to ask someone to put balls by the goals.  A security officer was retrieving balls in the second half.  Given the number of staff present at the match, this was an embarrassingly overlooked game detail.     

Introductions were interesting.  The referees were introduced.  I gave them polite applause, as I usually do, and was the only one doing so.  There were few enough people there that they actually acknowledged me.  (These guys did a pretty good job this afternoon, if lack of heckling from the crowd is a good indicator.)  The Arizona Christian (ACU) Firestorm goalie was the obvious standout in the lineup.  Tahlia Miears was listed a 6’ on the program (and thank you to whoever does the stat-filled soccer program and please takeover doing the volleyball programs), but she was literally a head taller than everyone else on field, including the four male referees.  The rest of the team looked fairly small and wiry. 

On the Aggie side, keeper, Dmitri Fong, was back.  From the program schedule, she must have been back since the SMU game last week.  Audriana (Audrey) Chavez, Rebecca (Becca) Mazzie, and Devin Hart started.  I didn’t recognize the rest.  Aileen Galicia was not in.  Reilly Marks was still not in uniform.  But here’s the main question for this Monday afternoon game: Why weren’t these girls in class?

First Half

You couldn’t miss the change in the net.  Dmitri was very vocal with the team and took charge.  Early in the half, she came out of the box in a risky-looking move to kick the ball away, and did so without any hesitation.  Dmitri’s a red-shirt freshman with a lot of leadership qualities.  It was also quiet enough with the small crowd to also hear the Aggie bench occasionally pipe up with an “Aggie Up!” cheer.  There was more chatter on the field too.  At one point, I was startled by a guy’s voice yelling across the field.  It was the coach, soft-spoken, Freddy Delgado.  The old man was also chiming in with a taunting, “Aggie Ball!  Aggie Ball!” 

Another change with the Aggies was that they were much more aggressive than I’ve seen them.  They were offsides on a good chance with 36’ left in the half.  Their effort paid off at 35’ on a Devin Hart goal.  It was a good, coordinated attack in front of the net that the goalie had little chance on.  1-0 Aggies.  ACU drove right back down the field and just missed on a shot in front of the net at 31’.  The Aggies got in a couple of weak shots at 27’.  An ACU breakaway came back on the second one.  A foul was committed in the box to stop the shot.  The penalty kick missed wide right.  Whew!  Dmitri did have it tracked right.  A couple of minutes later, she made another risky kick with opposing players around her.  She has no fear.

22’ the Aggies got a couple of corners in a row, but nothing came of them.  24’ Mariah Baker (and her great hair, as Jim Rome would say, “What a head of lettuce,”) and Tuti Tirado came in as subs.  Either one or the both of them got wolf-whistled as they came on.  That had to be embarrassing and provocative for the girls.  17’ Becca got in a shot that was turned away.  That started a two-on-one ACU breakaway that was broken up.  14’ had another such breakaway.  Dmitri screamed at the girls after that.  13’ an ACU free kick from outside the box just went high and wide.  8’ Dmitri came out and stopped a breakaway.  The Aggies made a good attempt inside the last minute, but it was 1-0 going into halftime. 

Halftime

The Aggies were up 6 shots to 1 on goal, so they were pretty aggressive.  The Firestorm was still getting their chances.  Two fans behind me that I’m tagging as Angry Mom and Angry Dad, didn’t find much to criticize this half.  The girls may have been yelling at each other more.     

There wasn’t any halftime entertainment, not even any kids playing around the goals.  However, there was a student giveaway.  A tandem stadium seat set with an umbrella was brought out.  The PA said, “Make some noise and show us your moves, and this is yours!”  A couple of the handsome guys jumped up and yelled and sort of danced.  The set was handed to them without any delay.  They took it right out on the field and sat on it.  This was actually a heck of a gift, worth $100 (as per a staff member’s comment).  Thank you Gatorade for your sponsorship. 

Second Half

The Aggies started right off attacking (as did some bugs swarming around my face).  Their second attack at 43’ left in the half had Devin Hart again in front of the goal in a one-on-one.  Goooooal!  2-0 Aggies.  Becca and Devin made a couple of more shots over the next few minutes.  It was an onslaught.  34’ Audrey made a great header into the net, but it was waved off on an offsides.  She was rubbing her head afterward. 

Okay, suddenly out of nowhere ACU had their own one-on-one in the Aggie end.  Dmitri stayed back on this one, but the ball flew into the top corner, out of reach.  27’ Veronica Cruz made it 2-1 Aggies.  The Aggies started stumbling on offense and falling back into passing the ball backward and not facing the opponent’s goal.  Then it happened, the moment I’d been waiting for.  Angry Mom shouted out to Audrey, “Come on, #3!”  At which point, Audrey turned around, looked up at the stands, shrugged her shoulders and threw up her hands, What!  It was worth showing up just for that.  I kind of presume these two knew each other in some way.

19’ Tuti came in for Devin.  I was sort of hoping to see a hat trick.  A minute later, Tuti was almost fist-fighting with a much taller player moving the ball into the ACU end.  15’ the ACU goalie got caught outside of the net, but the Aggies couldn’t finish the play.  12’ ACU caught Dmitri out of the net.  The ball was kicked away, but not cleared.  With a second chance in front of the net, Dmitri had no chance and Marisa Ortiz tied it at 2. 

Devin was put right back in.  6’ the tall ACU goalie kicked one over the stands.  I’d noticed that another player was actually doing all of static goalie kicks for her this half.  Maybe there was a reason for that.  4’ an Aggie player got carded for rough play by the sidelines, didn’t see who.  The Aggies picked up the intensity.  3’ Becca made a shot on goal.  1’ Devin passed to Audrey for another good shot.  Just before time expired, Devin got off a shot outside box that just missed.  Shots on goal at regulation: Aggies 13, Firestorm 7. 

Overtime 1

By this point, my butt was getting sore, even with a seat and a cushion.  Extra soccer was not a welcome development.  One minute in and the match almost ended.  Dmitri came out to stop a shot and the ball got past her.  Another player managed to kick it out.  7’ Devin to Audrey again for a good chance in front of the goal.  Finally, 5’ Audrey in the box repeats her header shot from earlier and this time it was good.  Goooooal!  And a 3-2 Aggie win!  And she paid the price.  Audrey got leveled to the ground after the shot.  The girls went over to congratulate her and quickly called for the trainers and the coach.  After about 10 minutes, she was finally able to get up and could only painfully hobble. 

The rest of the team came to midfield while Audrey was still down.  They thanked the fans, while still looking off to the side at her prone form.  The handsome guys stuck around, and I got impression they might have girlfriends on the team.  I didn’t stick around to find out.  I did see Aileen.  She was limping with an ankle heavily wrapped.  Two good players down and two more games this week.  I never even saw Cristina Bertoldo.  If there’s one thing that could drive me away from watching women’s sports, it’s seeing these girls get injured.  Well, conference play starts Friday afternoon.  I hope to be there.

Baseball Journal September 27-30, 2017

9-27-17

I missed the Rangers’ game that was on during the afternoon.  I had totally forgotten all about it and was sad for the rest of the evening.  I felt like I let Eric Nadel down and was mailing it in as a fan with the season winding down. 

Just to follow up from the 9-26-17 post, President Trump has gotten a lot of criticism for condemning NFL players taking a knee.  Trump was literally the only person in the country that could have said something and gotten their attention.  Nobody else’s opinion mattered.  A stadium full (or in this case, half-full) of fans boo’ing the players didn’t rate.  The players and the sports media actually thought this protest issue was settled in their favor because they’d tuned out all other criticism.  Trump was the voice of the majority of Americans, who were outraged by this unpatriotic display. 

9-28-17

The Hated Angels were eliminated from the playoffs tonight.  Better luck next year, Al.  Bah, ha ha!

9-29-17

I listened to the Aggie volleyball match on the radio yesterday.  Today I was in the mood for some baseball.  At MLB.com, all of the games were free to watch for the last three days of the season, thanks to the new Coke Zero Sugar.  I haven’t tried it yet.  Coke Zero was one of my favorite sodas, so I’m not happy about its demise. 

So of course the first game I turn to, Rockies versus Dodgers, was blacked out.  At least the radio broadcast was fun.  There sounded like a big happy crowd in Denver for the game.  The announcers were having a good time as the team was up big and close to clinching a playoff birth.  When I tuned in, the guys were discussing a seldom used “Umpire’s Interference” call that gave a player a base.  Glad I wasn’t scoring at home.  The Rockies won 9-1.  Meanwhile, I put up the video of the Rangers playing the A’s.  Though the Rangers were out of it, it looked like a pretty full house in Arlington.  It was another happy crowd as the Rangers were up 5-0 when I joined and ended up winning 5-3.

     

9-30-17

It was another bad reception night on the radio, but the signal was just strong enough that I toughed out listening to the Rangers versus A’s.  It was another full house in Arlington for the game.  Eric Nadel and Matt Hicks sounded happy.  The Rangers were up big, though the A’s did make it close late, 8-4 final.  The guys brought up that Andrew Romine played all nine positions on field today in a Tigers’ game.  That’s normally only a minor league stunt.  Meanwhile, with even worse reception, the Rockies lost, 5-3, to the Dodgers, but still clinched the second Wild Card slot.  The radio broadcast was doing celebration coverage at the ballpark, talking to players and executives.   

The next day in the paper, I read this recap about the Giants/Padres game this day: “Matt Cain pitched five shutout innings, then raised his arms and waved his cap, fighting off tears amid a standing ovation as he walked off the mound for the final time. . .”  Wow, that’s well written and a powerful mental image.  I’d read something about Cain on a Giants’ fansite, but just glanced over it.  Is he retiring?  I guess.  He certainly had a great career with three rings and a perfect game.  Tim Lincecum has reportedly disappeared off the face of the earth after his retirement.  Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner are still there, so it’s not the end of an era yet.  With the worst record in baseball this year, the Giants will definitely have to rebuild.      

NM State Softball Exhibition Game 9-30-17

I hate to be cryptic in the title, but I just don’t know who the Aggies were playing.  I wasn’t sure if I was reading their shirts correctly, which seemed to say “Lady Chaps.”  That can’t be right.  I noticed at least one of their fans wearing a UTSA shirt (University of Texas-San Antonio, not to be confused with USTA, those tennis people, who I kept misidentifying them as last year).  The Aggies have played them before (2-11-17), and I don’t think green and gray are their colors, nor was this team the Roadrunners.  I guess we’ll go with Lady Chaps, regardless of how incorrect that may be, for the rest of the post.

I arrived at the softball complex directly from the volleyball match.  I wasn’t entirely sure if there was going to be a game there, because their schedule was a bit vague and their Twitter feed hadn’t put up any updates.  I could see people in the stands and a team bus outside, so that was a good sign.  I peeked over at the baseball field.  Coach Brian Green on the Aggie Coaches Show had said that they would be playing inter-squad games for the next few weeks and that the public was more than welcome to come out and watch.  I saw a couple of people in the stands, but no game on the field.  I did briefly see some players exercising.  Maybe next time.

The sun was hot, but a few big clouds would obscure it about half the time.  I kept taking my sunglasses on and off and putting my umbrella up and down.  There was a stiff breeze, but it didn’t affect the fans, only the flight of balls in the air.  There was actually a decent crowd for a game that didn’t count.  The regular senior crowd wasn’t there (nor the old man).  It was a lively bunch.  They were shouting out criticism and encouragement and ragging on the umps, for the whole game.  A fellow in front of me was, I think, an Aggie player dad.  He was particularly vocal.  Behind me was a dad from the other team doing some shouting.  These guys were nowhere near as obnoxious the soccer fans.     

I arrived during the break between the games of the double header.  With no program, I’m sort of guessing about some of the Aggie lineup.  Kayla Green was at first.  I’m not sure if she pitched in Game 1.  I was pleased to see Kelsey Horton at second.  This would indicate she was over her injury.  Diminutive local girl, Brandy Hernandez, was playing at third and a clear fan favorite.  She was also practicing pitching on the sidelines before the game, multi-talented.  Destiny Blueford was at short.  Amy Bergeson was in left.  Victoria “Tori” Castro was in center.  I don’t know who was in right with the long, dark hair, but I think I heard her called Nicole.  I’m not sure who was catching, maybe Shelby Shultes.  A new girl was pitching.  I heard her called Louise and “Weezie,” so we’ll go with that.

Weezie looked pretty good to start with a pair of strikeouts.  The Lady Chaps then sent up a very large girl, who their fans called “Ya-ya.”  Uh oh, I thought, These kind of girls usually mean trouble on the softball field with a bat in their hands.  Sure enough, she easily doubled.  It’s hard to believe her and Brandy Hernandez, who might be less than half Ya-ya’s size, are playing on the same field.  Softball seems like a very democratic meritocracy in that respect.  Kelsey, with an entirely different build, looked good fielding a popup to end the inning. 

In the bottom, the Lady Chaps pitcher had on a face mask.  I assume everyone wearing one of those has taken a ball to the face, so congratulations on your courage for going back out to pitch.  Their catcher worked up lots of chatter, which I like.  Whether it’s useful or not, I don’t know.  Amy led off with an infield single.  She then stole second and took third when the pitcher forgot about her.  Brandy, with several fans in the crowd, singled her in, 1-0 Aggies.  A new cheer came out of the Aggie dugout, “Do it again!  We like it!”  Brandy then stole second.  Kelsey sacrificed her to third, and Brandy would score on a fielder’s choice, 2-0.  Destiny also collected a single before the inning ended.   

To the second, Kelsey made another good catch and seemed to be moving well.  Admittedly, I’m not just watching Kelsey for her good looks; I wanted to see if she’d recovered from her injury.  Weezie didn’t get a strike call in one at bat.  The crowd reacted very badly.  I’d be critical of them taking this exhibition game too seriously, but Coach Kathy Rodolph came out of dugout and said to everyone, “That was a good pitch!  Keep doing that!”  You could tell this really was an exhibition game, because in a real game, she’d get tossed for showing up an umpire like that.  The frame ended without further controversy.     

Nicole singled to start the bottom of the second.  She advanced to second on a high wild pitch.  The Aggie bench sang out, “Lower, lower,” then in a lower register, “Lower, lower.”  If they didn’t play so well, I’d question the amount of time they must spend on harmonizing and working out new material.  Kayla came up and popped up on the first base line.  She collided with the first baseman and flattened her.  I can’t believe just wrote that sentence.  Thin, wiry Kayla shouldn’t be flattening anybody.  Moreover, as per the rules (which the fans and Kayla didn’t seem to know), she was out on interference (but could have legally left the baseline in such an instance to avoid contact with the fielder). 

This is not the kind of play we want to see, especially in an exhibition.  If you want to hit other girls on a field, play soccer, you can completely get away with it about half the time.  Coach Kathy came out to send Kayla back to the dugout, as she was still standing at first base, and to check on the hurt player.  The girl had the wind knocked out of her and had to get a nasty scrape treated by a trainer.  The fans and the Aggie bench applauded her as she resumed her position.

Back to the action, Amy doubled.  Brandy singled and drove Nicole in, 3-0.  (This is the kind of play we want to see.)  Brandy stole second.  (This all seems familiar.)  Kelsey came up and doubled to center.  Oh, that’s that sweet swing of hers.  That looked good.  Amy scored, but Brandy was called out on a play at the plate, 4-0 Aggies.  Between innings, Kathy argued with umpire.  No, actually, in measured tones, she told him that he was wrong and apparently didn’t know the rules, but she didn’t argue because it was an exhibition.  Try to do better.  Yeah, that was right in front of the grandstand and we all heard it.            

  

Top of the third, after a walk, Destiny made a great play deep in the hole to force the runner at second.  A caught stealing ended the frame.  Tori got a drive down the line, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double.  The ump at second was calling everybody out if it was close, but nobody seemed to pick up on that. 

Caity Szczesny came in to play center for the fourth.  Ya-ya had and epic at bat when she came up.  The wind robbed her of a home run and she had to settle for a walk.  A new battery came in with Samaria Diaz pitching.  It looked like she was using a new windup.  It looked looser and more powerful.  The new catcher may have been Kennedy Johnson, from hearing that name on field. She had really great hair under that catching helmet.  Speaking of catchers, is Alexis Maynez not on the team anymore?  I liked her, her catching, and she’d figured out the hitting.  Kayla Green was also replaced by Nikki Butler.      

In the bottom, Nicole singled.  A new girl without a number came up.  Nicole was out on a fielder’s choice on a grounder.  The new girl stole second the catcher nearly hit the pitcher trying to throw her out.  Amy got off the ultimate bunt: the ball somehow completely stopped on the ground right in front of the plate after being hit.  While the catcher admired the improbable physics of the situation, Amy took second.  The new girl tried to take home in the fracas, but was thrown out.  The crowd was angry again over the call.  Amy took third during the pitcher’s inattention right after.  It’s basically just funny at this point, because you know she’s wondering if she could steal home standing up.  Unfortunately, Amy decided to let her teammates get an RBI was left stranded.

What happened next is a little clearer in retrospect.  Kathy had not been having a stress-less game.  The irritation may have started in Game 1, when I wasn’t there.  I’m not sure exactly happened in the previous inning to trigger an explosion, but it happened.  Kathy took the team out of the dugout and dressed them all down in front of everybody.  This friendly little exhibition was turning into an opera where everybody dies in the end.          

After that tirade, changes were made in the top of the fifth.  Brandy was called off the field and replaced at third with the new girl without a number.  I thought I heard “Buddy” called out for her.  I must have mis-heard that, certainly it’s not a given name, but we’re going with it.  She had shorter hair than the other girls and had sunglasses on the whole time.  Jeanelle Medina went in at short (assuming that’s her with the #9).  (I’m hating writing this.  I’m not even sure who I’m talking about.)

The “pep talk” didn’t work out as the Lady Chaps got a two-run homer.  It was somewhat wind-aided, but that still counts, 4-2 Aggies.  The opposing bench piped up at this point.  Ya-ya also singled in the inning.  In the bottom, Kelsey got a serenade from the bench during her at bat.  She grounded out and didn’t run hard.  In this case, I wonder if her wheels are still a bit too tender to go all out all the time.  Caity, who also got sang to, got an infield single that she stretched to a double. 

Kelsey’s defense wasn’t suffering.  She made a great running play on the infield in the sixth.  She may have worked on playing second a bunch in the off-season.  In the bottom, Nicole singled and took second on a wild pitch.  An FC by Buddy got her to third.  (I have this vision of people yelling at me, “You’re getting every name wrong!”)  Amy drove her in on another fielder’s choice, 5-2 Aggies.  Brandy came in to bat.  She got via an error, but was thrown out trying to steal. 

The Lady Chaps led off the seventh with a double to right.  I couldn’t really see the play in the corner, but the coach apparently didn’t like it.  Nicole came out and Tori came in.  Next was a strikeout, a single, and then a run-scoring single, 5-3 Aggies.  Ya-ya was at bat again with the bench cheering for her, but the game ended on a double play.  Or not.  They played out the bottom for the exhibition.  Nikki got sang to during the frame, but that was all that happened.  Now we’re done.  5-3 Aggies was the final.

After the teams shook hands, the Aggies went to circle and said “Thank you!” to everyone.  The Lady Chaps then upstaged them.  They went directly up to the grandstand and said together, “Thank you for coming to our game!  Bird is the word!”  It was so cute.  I wish knew who they were.  As for the Aggies, they got rimmed some more by the coach.  Even out in left field, her voice was carrying loud and clear.  My impression is that the team seems pretty good.  Amy Bergeson is on a mission to take every base.  She’s going to be fun to watch.  The new girls looked good.  I’m not sure how all the pieces are going to fit together or where they’re going to play, but I’m not worried. 

Starving in the early evening from only having a bowl of cereal in the morning, things finally aligned for me to get that Roadrunner Pizza large pepperoni that I’d been wanting for a month.  It’s hard to believe you can work up that much of an appetite just sitting around for a couple of games.  One of the guys there immediately complimented my “Aggie Empire” shirt.  This shirt is the greatest.  Right after I walked out, I think one of the cheerleaders went in, not in uniform of course.  Maybe I could have gotten another compliment or at least complimented her and the rest of the Spirit Squad on their relentless energy and efforts during the games.  The pizza was delicious and a great way to top off the day.             

NM State Aggies vs UMKC Roos Volleyball 9-30-17

I’d been worried about quarter end processing at work, but everything turned out fine Friday night.  I switched my worry over to the girls on the Aggie volleyball team for Saturday’s game.  Before Thursday night’s game against Chicago State, it was announced that captain, Jordan Abalos, was injured in practice and wouldn’t be playing this week.  In addition to being first or second in any given game in kills and digs, the coach mention she was their best passer and returned 50% of the other team’s serves.  She’s a big part of the team.  Jordan was seeking a second opinion on what seems like a season-ending injury.  I doubt there’s any good outcome from this development coming.  Even Jordan being cleared to play may not be good for her personally.  As much as I want to see her play, I don’t want her getting more physically hurt than she probably already is.   

Though Chicago State had a better record and was actually built up in the pre-game, the Aggies walked over them in straight sets, even without Jordan.  Tatyana Battle really stepped up with 13 kills.  KC Tohm was next with 8.  Lia Mosher was in on 8 blocks.  Ari Sierra had 13 digs.  So far, so good, but I was still concerned about the Saturday game, especially since it was an Autograph Day for the fans.  (Sidebar: Coach Mike Jordan mentioned chatting with new Women’s Basketball Coach Brooke Atkinson in an interview.  Its good see some collegiality between the Aggie coaches.  They were probably discussing voice-care techniques after a long day of yelling at the players.)

After waking up late after a long night at work, I ate breakfast right before going, so I avoided the concessions, which were busy anyway.  There weren’t any programs up front, but I found one at a side entrance.  The seats behind the bench were filled with a middle school girls’ volleyball team that had participated in an Aggie training session that day.  I said “Hi,” to a co-worker, whose daughter was at the camp.  Adam Young, broadcasting the volleyball today (thank goodness, it’s nice to have a friendly voice in your ear), called it a “light” crowd today.  The old man wasn’t even there.  I’d say attendance under 1,000.  (They’re not putting any stats on the programs anymore.)  Adam thought it was because of the Aggie football game this morning.  I frankly doubt the fans were in Fayetteville, so I don’t know where they were.  

I’d been listening that Aggie football game against Arkansas on the radio before going and during the pre-game.  That game finished just before this one started, and ended with a 42-24 loss.  No announcement was made about the score at the volleyball game, unlike the Lobo game, where the Aggies were winning earlier this month.  (Adam gave a late update, without giving a final score.)  I admit I was okay with the outcome.  I’d thought to myself beforehand that if the Aggies could keep the Razorbacks under 50 and score over 20 themselves, it would be a somewhat encouraging result.  As per the newspaper, the big winner was the Aggie Athletics department with a $1.35 M payout for playing the game.

The girls were out on court warming up.  (Yikes!  I saw Julianna Salanoa pick up a volleyball with one hand, palming it.  I haven’t seen that before.)  Jordan Abalos, not suited up, sat on the bench, watching.  Her desire to be out there playing was almost palatable.  A couple of little girls, maybe coaches’ daughters, were sitting next to her, keeping her company.  She didn’t go with the team to change for the game.  I didn’t realize until later that she was actually only able to walk on crutches.  Jordan would, very gingerly, hobble to join the girls in a circle during the match.  It was just heart-breaking to see her like this. 

During the Anthem, I swear I was hearing a choir.  Maybe it the middle school girls singing behind me.  For player introductions, the UMKC girls seemed very friendly, as they waved to the crowd.  The lights dropped and the Aggie promo video came on.  Most of the highlights featured Jordan, which depressed me and must have made her miserable.  Seniors KC Tohm and Sasha-Lee Thomas did not start.  Redshirt Sophomore and 6’5” tower Megan Hart and standout freshmen Lia Mosher and Brielle Sterns were in.  We’re going young today.  

Set 1

Tatyana Battle got the match started with a kill.  She was already taking charge from the first point on.  3-1 was a Roo point, but Megan Hart showed some unexpected skill in digging a shot off the floor.  KC and Brielle combined on a block at 5-1, and Brielle got a great kill at 5-3.  The Aggies dominated this set, but the Roos got a great dig on an Aggie point at 10-4.  10-5 KC missed on her third attack error.  11-5 Sasha came in and immediately got a kill.  KC came out and the coach talked to her. 

12-5 Kaylee Neal came in to serve and floated the ball just over the net for an ace.  The crowd roared in approval.  (I had my head down over my notes at the time.  I’ve got to stop doing that.)  13-5 Lia got in on the action with a kill.  20-8 the Roos won the point, but it was kept alive by three Aggie girls diving for the ball.  The crowd loved the effort.  22-8 Taty served an ace.  She was doing it everywhere on the floor.  She had 7 kills for the set.  Natalie Mikels served an ace to end the set 25-10 Aggies.

Set 2-Aggies 1 Roos 0

I don’t know how with all the noise, but there was a little boy sleeping in his mom’s lap in front of me.  Brielle started off the set with a kill and served an ace a few points later, 3-1.  (The Roos need to work on their return of service.)  KC made a couple more attack errors to tie it at 5.  KC came out, and Sasha got a kill to retake the lead at 6-5.  Sasha is the stopper when it comes to opponent runs.  12-6 the Aggies went on a 7 point run that only ended on a service error. 

The down official (the one on the floor, as opposed to the one on top of the net) started getting a steady stream of abuse from the Roos’ coach.  There had been a missed call earlier and now every close play was being argued.  17-12 Roo point, KC was looking in the wrong direction and missed a pass (grimace).  18-12 KC’s swing is blocked out for an Aggie point.  She was still taking her shots without hesitation.  19-13 Sasha got a massive kill that rebounded into the seats.  20-13 Taty got her tenth kill.  22-13 Lia got an overpass kill (a pass that gets too close to the other side of the net that the other team can hit, they’re cool).  23-14 Sasha put another kill into the seats.  25-14 Aggies was the Set 2 final.

Halftime

The contest on the floor involved some of the middle school girls popping balloons with their backsides.  But most of the entertainment came when all the girls started dancing for the camera back at their seats.  The staff came over and gave them all souvenirs from their effort.

Set 3-Aggies 2, Roos 0

The officials weren’t having a good afternoon.  4-1 Aggies, was a disputed point that was overturned in conference.  7-2 KC showed up with a great kill.  Time out Roos.  Dance Cam went into effect, Gangnam style!  The middle school girls were up and all over it.  My co-worker’s little son was dancing in the aisle with Pistol Pete.  How cool!  Pete came by later and took care of him with a souvenir button.  Ooops.   Too much fun.  The Roo bench got yellow carded for taking too much time to get back on the court.  I didn’t realize they were dancing too.

7-4 Roo point, but KC took three good, hard swings during it.  7-5 Roos got an overpass kill by #14 Alexia Morey.  11-5 during yet another break to mop up sweat on the court, the Roos’ coach really got into it with the officials.  I’m surprised she hadn’t been ejected by this point.  And was the temperature dialed up in the building?  There were about five stoppages for cleaning the floor during the match.  Normally, there aren’t any.  And is it really necessary for the players to be doing the housework?  It looked bad.  Maybe the ballgirls or arena staff could do it.  (I’ll do it.  I can see it now.  “So as long as I’m here, what are you ladies doing after the match?”  “Yellow card for bothering the players!”  “Can I at least keep the towel?”)

12-7 Lia was denied on the previous point, but got the kill on this point.  15-7 a Roo dump shot sent the Aggies scrambling with two emergency digs that eventually won them the point.  16-8 Roo #14 Alexia Morey with a great tip kill.  Very tall and pretty with long straight jet black hair, Alexia was hard to miss on court.  With her dark eye shadow, if it’s possible for a volleyball player to have a cute Goth look, she had it.  Alexia may also be something of a team leader, as I noticed her working up a lot of chatter with her teammates between points.      

16-9 Roo point, but the Aggies had four diving digs trying to save it.  The girls laughed afterward.  The coach yelled at them on court.   19-11 Sasha came up with another great kill.  Wincing afterward, she came limping right off the court.  That didn’t look good.  I don’t think she came back in.  23-12 KC got a kill and another at 22-13.  Bridgette Lowe came in.  Her right (hitting) hand was still wrapped up.  She was able to hit effectively with it.  23-17 the Roos won the long point on a KC attack error, which Adam identified as her sixth.  23-19 KC was called for a net violation.  Coach Jordan called a timeout as the Roos had managed to claw their way back into the set.  He likely reminded them of their two five-set losses this season, where they’d lead by two sets in both.  That must have done it, as the girls finished it off.  25-19 and 3-0 Aggies was the final. 

Tatyana Battle stood tall today with 15 kills to lead the team.  Adam mentioned at one point that she was hitting .800 with only two attack errors.  She’s 6’ but has such a lean build, you might underestimate how hard she hits.  Taty really steps up when needed, and that time is now.  This’ll be her team next year, if not now by process of attrition.  Brielle Sterns, built in a similar fashion, came up with 8 kills.  The future is now with the freshman. 

Sasha-Lee Thomas gritted her way through the match with 8 kills.  Last match (9-19-17), I could see Jordan was nearly done.  I’m worried I may be seeing Sasha in the same straits, playing until she can’t.  KC Tohm had 7 kills, but maybe the same number of errors.  Jordan would make errors, but if you kept feeding her the ball, she’d double that in kills.  KC looked physically okay, but I have to think there is something wrong in her life, because she’s definitely a good player.  I don’t know what to say.  The team has won two matches in what should have been convincing fashion, but instead left me wondering what’s going to happen when they face stiffer competition or have to play past three sets again.

I’m having a terrible time writing this, because I’ve been dreading having to bring this up again.  If the girls get injured during a match, that’s part of the sport.  If they’re getting injured in practice, that’s on the coach.  Why do I keep hearing about injuries sustained in practice?  Mike Jordan is our 20-year head volleyball coach, and I don’t even understand the rules of the sport, and yet I can see this problem clearly.  It’s too late for Jordan, probably for Sasha.  Hopefully, KC just had a bad day or a minor injury.  Take care of the rest of the girls.  Megan Hart was reported to be in good shape and eager to play.  Savannah Davison was cleared to play this week.  Julianna Salanoa is there.  You may need the firepower here shortly, so it might be a good idea to see if these girls can play.

On to more pleasant things.  With the win, autograph time was all smiles.  At the end of the match, the PA pointed out a pretty staff attendant named Brooklyn (how cool) on court, and invited the fans to go get the players’ autographs on a special poster, which Brooklyn would be handing out.  On the court, I waved to Adam Young.  He reached over and shook my hand, which was nice since he was just in commercial break and not actually done for the broadcast.  I told him I’d seen him on TV doing football and that he did a good job.

First up was my favorite herself, Jordan Abalos.  I’m glad I shaved today.  The good news was that the line moved quick, but the bad news was that that really limited the face time, not that I had speeches worked out for Jordan and some of the other girls or anything.  She was all smiles and pleasant, because she’s always so poised and gracious dealing with the fans and the media.  I only got to tell her good luck, and she appreciated the support.  Let me say here at least, Jordan, you’re awesome.  Being a great volleyball player is probably the least of your good qualities.  Things will work out for you.

Sasha was right next to her.  Unfortunately, like I said, things were moving fast, and most of girls had their heads down signing.  I would have liked to have asked Sasha how she was doing, but she was probably in pain and miserable.  I got a moment with Analyssa Acosta.  She is so pretty and sweet, just like last year.  She talked to me and liked my “Aggie Empire” shirt.  As if I didn’t think the shirt wasn’t awesome enough, it’s been enhanced.  (There was some sort of contest or drawing for tickets to The Last Jedi announced during the match, but I didn’t care.)  Next year will hopefully be your year to start.  I made an effort to call the other reserves by name when I could, since they appreciate the recognition.

Lovely Kaylee Neal I made sure to talk to, since I definitely wanted to ask her about her internship with the women’s basketball team.  She lit up.  She liked it and learned a lot and said it was a totally different culture on that team than the volleyball.  Surprisingly, Kaylee said she didn’t know anything about basketball (or not so surprisingly at 5’ tall).  Quickly, I asked if she was going to be a coach someday.  She laughed and denied it, saying she didn’t have the temperament.  I know Coach Jordan has gone out of his way to praise her work ethic, and she’s been called one of the team leaders.  I think Kaylee will be coaching unless she’s got another career set up.  I really wished I could have talked to her more.  It would have been interesting.   

I got a good look at Bridgette Lowe’s hand.  Not only was it wrapped up, her fingers were taped together.  I was a bit shocked she was playing like that and actually told her and said that she was tough.  She smiled and brushed it off like it wasn’t that big a deal.  (I’m not sure how she signed.)  Brielle Sterns was nice and I got to praise her good game.  I told KC Tohm that she had good bounce back set in the third.  She gave me that killer smile.  What I really wanted was to ask how she was doing, but this probably wasn’t a good venue for that or an honest answer.  Lastly was our star player today, Tatyana Battle.  I got tell her she had a great game.  I’m sure she knew that, but didn’t mind hearing about it.

I guess if I want more conversation with the girls, I need to join that Sideout Club and have dinner with them.  Sorry, not this year.  Work is too up in the air (and I’m kind of shy).  I’ll have to live with regret and missed opportunities for now.  You guys are great.  Even though it was busy, if I wasn’t assertive enough to say something to everybody, know that I meant to.  I ran into my co-worker again.  She asked if this poster was going up in my cubicle, like my other Aggie posters.  No, this will go on the fridge at home. 

It was still early.  Let’s see if the Softball and Baseball teams are playing today too.