NM State Aggies vs South Alabama Jaguars Football 12-2-17 Part 1

This was the main event for Aggie athletics this semester.  The Aggie Football team has been flirting with being bowl eligible all season.  It’s come down to the final game of the season.  They have to win or the dream is dead for another year.  This would not be a big deal for any other Division I College football team, unless you own the longest bowl drought in the nation at 57 YEARS!  That this program has won two Sun Bowls and had an undefeated season is barely in living memory.  If the Aggies won today, they’d be 6-6 and would actually qualify potentially for the Arizona Bowl in Tucson.  The last time they had a winning season (2002), nobody wanted them and there was nowhere to go.  For the first time, I’m actually glad about the ridiculous proliferation of bowl games.

For the moment, I can only chuckle that Aggie football is finally better off than our nearest rival, UTEP.  Their coach suddenly quit halfway into the season, and they finished their season 0-12.  UTEP was the only FBS team without a win this season.  And then their Men’s Basketball coach very suddenly quit earlier this week over health concerns.  Not to mention, their new Athletic Director also just started this week.  What a way to come into a job! 

Coach Chris Jans had scheduled his Men’s Basketball team practice for early in the morning so they could go to the game.  He’s been a pretty big supporter of the football team for a guy in his first season.  The original game time was moved back a half hour, perhaps to accommodate the Women’s Basketball game in the late morning and so they could go.   

For my part, I was finally going to a football game this season.  I’d had free tickets offered at work twice, but couldn’t find anyone to go with.  This time, since I was already at the university for Women’s Basketball and given the importance of the game (and $5 tickets), I had to go anyway.  Oops, maybe those cheap tickets weren’t such a great deal.  I ended up with an endzone “seat” (actually just a concrete step).  Maybe you had to buy before game day to get an actual seat for $5?  Judging from the crowd after the game started, maybe they sold out of every other seat.  You could redeem your football ticket for a $5 Men’s Basketball ticket on Sunday, which didn’t help me, since I had free tickets to that game.

Coming directly from the Pan-Am Center after a short hike, I ended up at the stadium about a half hour early.  The good news was that I was about fifth in line to get in, which would pay dividends.  The Aggie Softball team was working at the ticket gates, as I had seen them doing last year.  This group of girls didn’t seem too happy to be there though, perhaps anticipating a long, busy afternoon.  I recognized diminutive Brandy Hernandez, but I wasn’t sure about the rest.  The girls did their job and handed out pom-poms, souvenir shirts, and programs to those at the head of the line, including me.  Unfortunately, my second giveaway shirt of the day was an XL.  I gave mine away inside to a guy that I met inside that I thought it would fit.  I gave away the pom-pom at work the next day.

A few Aggie football players came by.  Some of them were very big.  Some of them were surprisingly small.  The Aggie Volleyball team was also standing nearby at the head of the Student line.  I was pleased to see Jordan Abalos and Hannah Combs were out of their casts and walking normally.  Brielle Sterns was getting around in a boot, instead of on a scooter.  I said, “Hi” to a couple of the girls, but didn’t want to intrude.  (Not true at all, but I restrained myself.)

Little Caesars’ has apparently taken over the pizza concession from Papa John’s.  I wouldn’t be happy about this, but the Papa John’s, while better pizza, was overpriced and cold when I had a slice there last year.  I meant to get a slice of pizza, but somehow ended up with a small deep dish, which was way more than I wanted (not that I didn’t eat all of it anyway).  So I was juggling a small pizza box, a large drink, my stadium seat, a cushion, a notebook, and a jacket and didn’t know where my seat was.  I finally stopped in the concourse and ate half of the pizza because I couldn’t take the hunger any longer and was afraid I was about to drop everything without getting a taste.  When I resumed my search, a guy from Chik-fil-a put a free sandwich card on top of my pile.  I tell you, they just throw free things at you at Aggie sporting events.  (Literally, the cheerleaders were throwing stuff into the stands here too.)

I finally broke down and asked for help.  I was directed to the north end zone, east side of the stadium.  I was next to the visiting team’s section.    There isn’t even an usher guarding the section.  I had to keep turning around to see the video board and scoreboard during the game.  At least I was real close to the field.  Maybe this would work out later.  I had my pick of concrete when I arrived, but the section filled in later.  The whole stadium filled during the first quarter.  Las Cruces really turned out for this game.  Beyond being a big game, it was a beautiful 70 degree day.  It became overcast later, but didn’t get cold at all until well after the sun went down.  The Student Section (next to the Visitor’s Section, of course) was stuffed, and they were standing for the whole game.

15 Seniors were honored on-field before the game.  Quarterback Tyler Rogers came out first.  Defense captain, Dalton Herrington, came out with girlfriend, volleyball captain Jordan Abalos.  Put a ring on her, Dalton.  I foresee some very athletic children in your future.  The biggest round of applause went to All-American running back Larry Rose III.  These were the guys that football coach Doug Martin had recruited when he was first hired. 

I couldn’t see the Aggie Cheerleaders or the Sundancers where I was, but I could see the five Jaguar Cheerleaders.  They were spirited at least.  There were two Pistol Pete’s at the team entrance: the mascot and the horse riding one, who leads the team on to the field.  The Jaguars’ mascot, Southpaw, walked out in front of them and had a staredown with the Pete’s, but they quickly all made friends and took pictures.  Some of the Aggie Pride Band actually lined up next to me in the endzone area before they marched on to the field.  That really brought the pre-game show up close.   

First Quarter

One of these days, I’m going to do a whole post where I never actually talk about the game.  The Aggies won the toss and deferred to the second half.  The South Alabama Jaguars didn’t do anything with their opening series.  I know the Aggies wanted a big crowd, but it seemed like the team was playing with some stage fright.  Their opening series featured a near fumble, a near safety, and a punt from their endzone.  Thankfully, it was a good punt. 

Something I might have missed if I had been sitting on the other side of the stadium, South Alabama had like a little meeting room set up on their sideline.  There was a partition and seats where the players sat to get coaching.  An assistant also held up a screen when their coach was sending the team signals, perhaps so the other team couldn’t see them, though the opposite sideline could. 

The Aggies’ second series was marred with several penalties.  Nerves, again.  They ended up turning the ball over on downs in Jaguar territory.  The Aggies were passing a lot as usual.  At least Tyler was getting good protection.  For the Jaguars’ third series, they rotated in another quarterback.  They apparently use two normally.  They began a steady march downfield.  A group of Aggie cheerleader girls came over to start a fight with the Jaguar cheerleaders.  Oh unfortunately, no.  That would have made Sportscenter.  They all just fake smiled and waved at each other as they passed by.  Southpaw did high-five the Aggie girls.  He’s smooth.

Second Quarter

Between quarters, there was a contest in the endzone in front of me.  Four guys were dressed as hamburger buns and had to build a burger with toppings.  It sounds kind of dumb when I write it, but it was reasonably amusing.  The Jaguars finished their first quarter drive with a touchdown to go up 7-0.  The Aggies got a good return.  A bomb to wide receiver, Jaleel Scott, would set up a Dylan Brown field goal, 7-3 Jaguars.  Next series, Shamad Lomax recovered a Jaguar fumble on their end of the field, which would set up another field goal, 7-6 Jaguars.      

On the Aggies’ next series, a third down pass to Jaleel was ruled incomplete.  A replay on the video board disagreed, as did the crowd.  A full house roaring brought a review, which overturned the call.  There was a close up on the video board of the Student Section cheering the call.  Hey, there’s Kayla Green from the Softball team.  With a first down, the series continued and ended in an Anthony Muse touchdown reception, 13-7 Aggies.  The Jaguars came back with a long drive deep into Aggie territory.  The defense stood up and held and ended the threat with a Terrill Hanks interception.  The half ended with Tyler taking a knee.

Continued in Part Two.

                                             

NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos Women’s Basketball 12-2-17

Okay, this was the big day for Aggie sports.  The main event was going to be football this afternoon, but this was a great appetizer with the always highly contested UNM Lobos versus NM State Aggies rivalry.  I scouted the Lobos earlier in the week when they played the UTEP Miners in El Paso over the radio.  Both teams went into the game undefeated: Miners 4-0, Lobos 7-0.  There were 1,300 fans at the Don Haskins Center and a bunch of them were Lobo fans.  (It was also a double-header night with the Miner Men’s team playing right afterward.)  The Lobos won by 20, 59-39.  Miner coach, Kevin Baker, was amazingly ecstatic after the game in his post-game interview.  “Let’s see anybody else hold the Lobos to under 90 points this season,” he said.  (He also said the Miner girls need to be tougher.  “I’m going to tell our male practice squad to knock the girls around some more.”)

So with that preamble, I arrived at the Pan-Am Center about 45 minutes early for the game.  Tailgaters were already there for the football game all the way to the very end of the parking lot.  I bought tickets to both events at the ticket office.  Someone beside me questioned why the Women’s game tickets cost more than the football tickets.  They did boost the price of the Aggie/Lobo game and were selling cut-rate tickets to the football game.  They also asked me for my name when I bought the tickets.  We’ll see what comes of that.  Even coming early, I doubted I’d get the giveaway shirt.  (As if I need another Aggie shirt at this point.)  Surprisingly, there were plenty of them lying out.  There were two reasons for this, neither good.

Shocked, shocked I was looking at the seats when I came in to the arena.  It was mostly empty.  I just assumed there’d be a good crowd for a rivalry game, especially with so many people on campus for the football game.  I could see the girls practicing on court.  They kept glancing into in the stands in obvious disbelief and disapproval.  Again, I said, “mostly empty.”  While the Aggie booster section, which is usually full, was deserted, the visitor’s section was full.  The Old Man was there in his usual spot, literally surrounded by Lobo fans.  No wonder there were plenty of shirts available (though I did see one Lobo fan with one).

The Lobos came out on court to a rousing (and horrifying to Aggie fans) cheer.  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but they were a very diverse-looking bunch.  A couple were in leg braces.  A couple were big bodies.  There was one girl with a terrible hairstyle with little buns on the sides of her head.  I’d find out who she was soon enough.  In our Assistant Coach watch segment (I admit, they’re often the most interesting-looking group on the sidelines), the Lobos had a beautiful blonde woman that was very elegant-looking with a great smile.  Being on the other end of the court, she wasn’t able to distract me too much from the game.  Of course, the game itself would be very hard to look away from after it started.

The Roadrunner Review band broke out an “extended remix” version of the Aggie fight song.  They also spontaneously went wild when a promo played on the video board for The Last Jedi.  Taylor Swift’s Ready for It was one of the songs played by the DJ.  I bought her new album last week and picked that song as a good “sports” tune.  (Yes, I bought the Target version with the souvenir magazine.  It had a couple of great pictures of her cats.  The album itself wasn’t her best effort.  Ready for It and New Year’s Day, the first and last tracks, were the best on it.)            

About half the usual cheerleading squad was present for the game, along with the Sundancers and Pistol Pete.  The regular Aggie PA voice was there.  He had some low energy to start, but got into it quickly.  He needed to make sure not burn himself out early.  All these people would be working the football game later, and I pronounce them the hardest-working individuals of the day. 

I did see Tamera William from last season’s team (and from my encounter at the mall) in the stands.  (Wow, she’s still gorgeous.)  She gave a hug to the official photographer and a few boosters on her way to sitting courtside.  Tamera was smiles, but after the game started, she seemed a bit winsome (and looking at her phone, like everyone else in the world).  If she wished she were out there playing, me too.  She did perk up trying to get a souvenir shirt, of which the cheerleaders made two separate tosses into the crowd.  I think she got a Striking the Wonder Dog shirt (our tee-retrieving football dog).  I tried saying “Hi,” after the game, but didn’t get her attention.  (Hey, I wasn’t expecting a hug or anything.)

                                            

First Quarter

During the Anthem, a fat, old, hippy Lobo fan kept his seat, F-ing with his phone, but he did get up to cheer his team.  That was about the most of the notes I got in for this quarter.  It was incredibly fast-paced.  The Lobos took a quick 8-0 lead to start the game.  They dropped a pair of threes with about the same effort as an uncontested layup.  Wow, me hearing these girls on the radio was no preparation for seeing them in person.  Timeout Aggies.  The girl with the buns, Cherise Beynon, was unreal from behind the arc.  And it wasn’t just her.  A couple of the other Lobo girls were doing it too.  Thankfully, the Aggies got over that initial shock opening.  Brooke Salas came up with two steals and a block.  Gia Pack would start matching Cherise, shot-for-shot.  After 10 minutes, it was 32-29 Lobos.

Second Quarter

Events were still speeding along in the second.  I can barely read (or not read) what little notes I was able to take.  Brooke was still doing it on defense.  The Aggies were doing a good job rebounding, which kept them in the game.  Eventually, Tonishia Childress would knock down a three to give the Aggies their first lead of the game.  It didn’t last as the Lobos got a couple of strips and layups.  A cringe-y moment for the Aggies happened late when Brooke fired a fast break pass down court to Zaire Williams, who wasn’t looking back.  It nearly hit her in the head.  It was a bit awkward between them afterward.  52-48 Lobos at the half.

Halftime

The band started playing the Aggie fight song to end the half and then suddenly stopped part way into it.  They kind of left the cheerleaders hanging there out on the court.  They led the crowd to finish it anyway.  Nice recovery.  There was no halftime entertainment.  Okay.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia came by, working the sidelines.  He didn’t stay.  He was probably visiting the tailgaters in the parking lot and other stuff.  Well, here’s some stats from the video board (there wasn’t any radio call for this game for some reason):  Aggies 56% field goal shooting, Lobos 50%, Aggies 53% 3-point shooting, Lobos 67%.  These are NBA Jam video game numbers. 

Third Quarter

The shooting was stifled a bit as things got more physical.  Unsurprisingly, fouls were also getting called a lot more.  Lobo fans started off the third quarter standing, apparently until the Lobos scored.  (Aggie fans stand at the beginning of the game, until the opposing team scores.)  They ended up waiting about five minutes (maybe two and half minutes game time).  The Aggies scored 6 unanswered points to start.  The Lobos came storming back.  Memorably, N’Dea Flye went one versus three Aggies in the lane for an uncontested layup.    Madi Washington, with no points in the first half, suddenly started killing the Aggies from outside.  (Are parents just handing out Internet-searchable names for their kids now?)  Even the cheerleaders were stunned.  During a break, one of the girls forgot to bring out a sign to hold up while being held up by one of the male cheerleaders.  77-69 Lobos after three.

Fourth Quarter

Early, Jasmine Cooper ran into one of the goal posts trying to recover a rebound.  The crowd held its breath for a moment, but she came up smiling.  The rest of the team was also undaunted.  After being down by 11 to start, the Aggies came back.  Zaire got a fast break assist to Gia for a layup.  Zaire also hit a three to give the Aggies the lead again to cap a great run.  And immediately after that, the Lobos answered with their own three.  The kill shot was probably from Cherise a little later, as she hit yet another three right at the shot clock buzzer to put the Lobos up by 6 with a minute left.  Gia got a steal on a trap and a layup for the last Aggie highlight.  Our unbelievable final score: Lobos 101, Aggies 93.

The band played out the Aggie fight song to end the event.  The fans enthusiastically chanted along with it.  If they didn’t get to see the home team win and had to pay a “rivalry fee” for the ticket, at least everyone got to see a hell of a game.  I certainly didn’t feel cheated.  High scorer for the game was Gia Pack, whom I’m anointing the team leader after this game.  Lobo Cherise Beynon came in second with 30.  While I’ve had specific criticisms for the team after other losses this season, this time I got nothing.  When the opposing team drops 15 three-pointers on the Aggies, shooting over 68%, I’m just happy they could keep up.  The Aggies ran into a very good team today.  OMG, 194 points scored and I only missed one basket on the scorecard.  I’m giving myself a round of applause. 

There was one learned lesson here: Don’t schedule these basketball games, especially rivalry games, on the same day as football.  Even with a bunch of Aggie fans literally sitting in the parking lot next door, most don’t want to go to two events on the same day (or pay for two events).  They did this last week with afternoon football then an evening Men’s Basketball game, and I’m sure it actually decreased attendance for both.  No time for further reflection.  I was off on a short hike to the football stadium.  Aggie Football’s destiny awaited.

                                 

NM State Aggie Football and Men’s Basketball November, 25, 2017

During the Aggie Coaches Show, Men’s Basketball Coach, Chris Jans, made two honest pleas for Aggie fans to go to the football game on Saturday.  According to the radio call, there was a great crowd on hand for a late November game for Aggie Football versus the Idaho Vandals.  That is to say, it wasn’t a great crowd, but relatively speaking, there were more fans than usual for this time of year.  Later, running back Larry Rose III said he was impressed with the fan support.  Certainly, it couldn’t have been a more beautiful afternoon in Las Cruces and this was a meaningful game with the Aggies needing to win their last two games to be bowl eligible.        

With Tyler Rogers still injured, Nick Jeanty would be starting at quarterback.  He got his chance early.  An interception by Leon McQuaker on first Vandal drive, led to a Larry Rose III touchdown on a short field, 7-0 Aggies.  Idaho had more troubles.  They fumbled deep in their own territory which was recovered by Shamad Lomax.  Larry Rose added another touchdown for a 14-0 lead.  The Aggie offense got a long drive on their next possession, but that ended on a blocked field goal.  For the second quarter, the Vandals missed a field.  The Aggies then fumbled the ball on their end of the field, which was converted to an Idaho touchdown, 14-7. 

In the third quarter, the Aggies had another field goal attempt blocked.  Clearly the Aggies have some work to do on special teams.  The Vandals would convert on a field goal in the quarter, 14-10.  The Aggies would finally get a field goal in the fourth, 17-10.  The Vandals gave the Aggies a short field again on a bad punt, but Jeanty was intercepted in the endzone to end that drive.  Idaho had the ball inside of five minutes left.  They converted on one fourth down, but with three minutes left, the Aggie defense made a stop on another one.  The crowd was going nuts at this point.  The Vandals had a final drive.  The last play of the game was a Jaden Wright interception to seal the 17-10 Aggie victory. 

The Aggie defense definitely showed up for this game and closed it out.  They had 11 sacks.  The offense had problems as the game went along.  Jeanty’s arm wasn’t able to stretch the defense, so the Vandals were able to figure them out pretty quickly.  Those short fields they gave the Aggies really helped.  Okay, one game left at home and it’s a must win for the team to finally have a chance to go bowling.

It’s an Aggie triple-header here.  After this morning’s Women’s basketball game and this afternoon’s football, the Aggie Men’s basketball team would be playing the UTEP Miners tonight.  Jack Nixon, calling the football and the men’s basketball, is going to have to rest his voice after today.  The lower bowl was again full, like for the Lobo game (11-17-17).  Athletic Director Mario Moccia was very happy with that night’s attendance, especially with the students on break.  Many of them stayed in town to root on the team.  They may have been here again tonight.

It was a defensive fight to start with some poor shooting.  About halfway through the first half, the Aggies went on an 8-point run, but it was still tight.  One memorable play of the first half was Eli Chuhua making three attempts with two offensive boards, but it was Johnny McCants finishing it off with a jam.  Even apart from being a local kid, McCants is becoming a favorite.  He also had a great block this half.  Late, the Aggies went on a 10-point run.  It was 29-22 Aggies at the half.

To start the second, the Miners would tie it up and make it close.  The Aggies would go on a 9-point run with a pair of three’s.  McCants again had a two-hand jam to get the crowd worked up.  Late, the Miners started drawing a lot of fouls and going to the line, but the Aggies kept scoring.  The game went up tempo briefly and the Aggies took advantage of it to pad their lead.  The Miners were reduced to fouling in the final minute, but it was too late.  72-63 Aggies.  Stat of the game: UTEP had no offensive rebounds.  The teams face off next week in El Paso.  Jack brought up a silly issue in the pre-game; the programs disagree over their all-time records against one another, so who knows what it is.      

NM State Aggie Women’s Basketball November 24-25, 2017

I missed the ladies’ Monday home game win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.  I was really busy coming back to work from vacation and didn’t expect a Monday game.  I still feel bad about it.  It was a good, close win.  I was able to catch their next two games, which were part of the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic invitational in El Paso.  The Aggies would not be playing UTEP in either of these games, however.  I listened to these games over the radio.      

I was busy in the morning on Black Friday after Thanksgiving.  While I was back in time to start watching a morning hockey game before the basketball, I was so busy with housekeeping duties, I basically wasn’t able to watch.  This was too bad, since it was a great game between the Bruins and Penguins.  The Bruins took it 4-3 with a third period goal.  I saw one of the players give his stick away to the crowd at the end of the match.  Meanwhile on another station, unranked Pitt, having a losing season, beat #2 and undefeated Miami 24-14 in college football.  Crap!  I just lost $10,000 on that “sure thing.”  Just kidding, but that was interesting to watch the end of.

The Aggies’ game was against the Texas Southern Tigers.  I don’t know anything about them.  Whenever I think I’ve heard of every college team, a new one to me pops up to play the Aggies.  In the first quarter, the Aggies came out hot and getting turnovers.  They went up by 9 at one point, but the Tigers came back and ended up equal in turnovers.  17-14 Aggies after 10 minutes.  For the second, both teams came out cold with lots more turnovers and misses.  25-24 Aggies.

Gia Pack came out firing in the third, and the Aggies went up by 7.  Brooke Salas put in three three-pointers and the team went to a pressure defense.  It was actually quiet enough there that you could clearly hear Aggie Coach Atkinson on the sidelines.  (Thankfully, she didn’t say anything off-color.)  By the end of the quarter, the Aggies were up by 12, 46-34.  It was all looking good. 

Our final score was 66-50 . . . Texas Southern!  I don’t think Adam Young even gave the final score after the buzzer.  What the hell happened?  How do you lose by 16, when you’re up by 12 at the end of the third quarter?  I was listening and I can’t even tell you.  Well, Gia Pack and Monique Mills were hurt during the game, but I don’t think that was it.  The Coach was terse afterward, so there wasn’t much of an explanation there.  The Aggies won the turnover battle, but were -10 in rebounding.  Brooke Salas had 25 points to lead the Aggies.  Only four Aggies scored.  On the other side, two players were responsible for 53 of the Tigers’ points.  Let’s forget about this one and reset for tomorrow.

Okay, it’s tomorrow (Saturday).  The Aggies were facing the Arkansas Razorbacks.  They lost to UTEP on Friday.  The Razorbacks were down by 20 at one point, but came back in the fourth and only lost by 3.  In the first quarter, Brooke Salas came out shooting well, but picked up two fouls early and sat out the second quarter.  Jeneva Toilolo contributed well off the bench.  17-11 Aggies.  The Razorbacks made a bunch of uncharacteristic turnovers.  They were leading the nation in not making turnovers.  Both teams came out pretty cold in the second, but the Aggies held the lead, 25-23.

In the third, the Razorbacks found their shot and went up by 11.  It was 47-40 Arkansas after 30 minutes.  The fourth was hard-fought.  Jeneva got a big basket to cut the lead to 2.  Zaire Williams made a near half-court shot in the last minute to cut it to 6, but the final was 69-60 Razorbacks.  Gia Pack was the Aggie high-scorer.  Brooke was second with a double-double.  For these two games, the Aggies just didn’t have a closeout defense to finish off their opponents.  They’re going to have to work on that.    

Right after the game, I turned over to KROD out of El Paso to see if the Miners were playing right afterward.  They were, but a half-hour later, which conflicted with Aggie Football.  I didn’t find out it was on until late in the third quarter.  While I had a rooting interest in the football, the basketball game was probably better.  If only one could know ahead of time when a sporting event was going to be interesting.  UTEP and Texas Southern were tied halfway through the fourth, but the Miners pulled ahead and won 65-55.  It sounded like there was a good, enthusiastic crowd there for the game.  The Lady Miners are 4-0 on the season so far.

NASCAR Recap November 19, 2017

I sort of meant to cover NASCAR’s Championship race at Homestead-Miami today.  The big news was that this was Dale Earnhardt Jr’s last race before retirement.  He might race a bit more, but not full-time.  I started this blog (actually on Myspace) doing NASCAR recaps and covering his ascendancy.  It felt like I should put a coda on it.  Unfortunately, I was at the hospital with my dad.  We watched a bit, but never got into it. 

Later at home, I ended up watching Stadium’s coverage of the Patriot League Volleyball Championship during the early part of the race.  American University beat Navy in straight sets.  This might be my last volleyball match of the year, unless I run into some NCAA Tournament action.  Morgan Uber (I can’t get over that name) was working the sidelines during the match.  Afterward, she interviewed the tallest player on AU.  This girl must have been over 6’5”, because she was at least a foot-and-a-half taller than Morgan.  They made an odd couple on screen.

 

I suppose all I really have to say about Junior is that future NASCAR fans (that may be a presumptuous assumption right there, assuming there will be any) are going to wonder what the big deal was.  He didn’t win a championship or that many races.  All the gushing commentators could really say about him was that Junior had won the Most Popular Driver award fourteen years in a row.  It’s telling that that was his major accomplishment.  The one year he was really in championship contention, he cussed on-air in Victory Lane and was docked points.  It was all downhill after that.  (Getting caught in a fire inside a Corvette at an ALMS race didn’t help either.)  It’s almost impossible to overestimate Junior’s value in mainstreaming the sport.  It’s also just as hard to explain how that happened.            

On a similar note, Danica Patrick was also taking her last regular turn at the wheel.  She’d had sponsorship troubles this year that precipitated this early retirement.  “The Danica Experience,” as I called it, had its moments, but was mostly just about her, not her on-track accomplishments.  Meanwhile, Matt Kenseth too was leaving after this race.  Though still racing at a high-level, he couldn’t find sponsorship to pay him enough to keep him employed either.  I still blame his first championship season, where he only won one race, for foisting “The Chase” on us. 

Along with Carl Edwards’ sudden retirement and Jeff Gordon hanging it up recently, there are complex issues with this sport that are forcing drivers out.  I don’t have the inclination to bother discussing them.  I just don’t care.  Now there is a definite problem for the sport: a former huge fan, rendered apathetic.  Maybe next year, during the Daytona 500, I'll have more to say and maybe some pointless suggestions.

Congrats at least to Martin Truex Jr, an easy-to-like fellow.  It would have been a shame if the best driver this season didn’t win the championship because of the stupid, gimmicky championship format.  There was even some drama at the end, with Truex and Kyle Busch fighting for the race and championship win.  NASCAR got lucky there.  I guess we’ll see how NASCAR handles not having Junior around on track (he’ll be in the booth) next year.  

NM State Football Recap November 18, 2017

I took diligent notes during today’s football match up between the NM State Aggies versus University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns up until the fourth quarter.  That’s when my dad called and said he was going to the hospital.  If I’d thought to, I could have brought my little radio with me, but I was preoccupied.  So frankly, I don’t want to bother with the details now, especially given that it was a loss.  I’ll just go over some of the interesting bits that I heard.

        

There was a bit of controversy to start this game.  Earlier in the week, University Chancellor Garrey Carruthers questioned whether the football team would accept a bowl invitation if it involved lengthy travel and wasn’t sure they could meet ticket-selling obligations for it.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia had to do some immediate damage control during the football pre-game show.  They’d certainly go to any regional bowl game (like the Arizona Bowl or New Mexico Bowl).  Any invitation further away might require some fund-raising, since they’re on a tight budget, but they’d do it.  Of course, all this talk was premature. 

In the first half, the Aggie defense was nowhere to be found.  The Cajuns scored on every possession except one, a missed field goal.  They even pulled off a fake field goal to keep a drive going.  The Aggie offense in the first quarter was Jason Huntley scoring a touchdown on a kickoff return.  They did get going as the game wore on.  Quarterback Tyler Rogers picked up good yards running one drive.  Larry Rose III got a touchdown.  However, by halftime, it was 31-17 Cajuns.

During the game, Jack Nixon mentioned that the Aggie Women’s Basketball team lost to Lobos in Albuquerque.  This broke an Aggie sports’ winning streak against UNM this fall.  I was a bit annoyed there wasn’t any radio coverage of that game this afternoon.  According to paper, four of the Aggie starters had great games, but the team’s defense may not have been stiff enough.  This was also where I heard that the Aggie Volleyball team had lost in their tournament.  Jack, as always, was extremely complimentary of Coach Mike Jordan and his program.  During halftime, local theater owner and booster, Paul Allen, was a guest.  He talked about upcoming movies.  I got a chuckle when mentioned that his seats were comfortable enough that some people had taken “an expensive nap” in them.

Events started off well for the third quarter.  Rogers found Rose with a bomb that would later result in a touchdown.  The Cajuns put up another field goal, but Jason Huntley got in a couple of good runs and Rose scored another touchdown.  Unfortunately in this series, Rogers was shaken up on a play.  It was a shoulder injury that took him out for the rest of the game.  Nick Jeanty came in.  The Cajuns put up another field goal.  The Aggie defense gave up a fourth and six that kept that drive going.  On the next series, they did redeem themselves, by forcing the Cajuns to punt for the first time.

That first punt was shanked.  With a short field, the Aggie offense moved the ball inside the five, but had to settle for a field goal, but that did tie the score at 34-34.  From here, I was busy with real life.  Two Aggies on defense got ejected on next Cajun drive, which resulted in a touchdown.  The newspaper called it “questionable officiating.”  That seemed like a turning point.  I was somewhat glad I didn’t get to hear the rest, as Jeanty threw three interceptions, probably trying to force things.  The final was 47-34 Cajuns.

The Aggies need to win their last two games to be bowl-eligible.  They’re at home and playing two lousy teams.  Unfortunately, the Aggies are also a lousy team at this point and they may have lost Tyler Rogers.  I almost can’t bear to look at how this is going to finish out.   

NM State Men's Basketball Recap November 17, 2017

Let’s talk some Aggie Men’s Basketball.  I’ve listened to a couple of their games this season without taking any notes.  (Yes, I also listen to and watch sports just for fun or just to have something on.)  The team won against a slight foe and lost to a good one so far this season.  However, this game was serious.  All Aggie fans had this game circled on their calendar.  I was on vacation, but told that there was a buzz around work about this game.  Here it was.  This was the return of traitorous ex-Aggie coach, Paul Weir, and his new team, NM State arch-rival, the UNM Lobos to Las Cruces.  I’m told there was even some national interest in this game.  Nothing like a jilted fan-base to heighten a rivalry game. 

Though I could have gone, since I wasn’t working tonight, I didn’t even consider it.  I did not want to face the crowd and traffic by myself and didn’t want to try getting with anyone else to go.  I definitely planned on listening over the radio.  Imagine my surprise as I tuned in and heard the voice of the El Paso Chihuahuas, Tim Hagerty, doing the announcing.  It didn’t change my mind about going, but I was now really sorry I wasn’t there.  If possible, I would have loved to have met Tim and told him directly how much I enjoy his broadcasts. 

Usual Aggie Basketball announcer, Jack Nixon, was out-of-town to call Aggie Football on Saturday.  I’m sure he was hating missing this game.  Tim, of course, did a great job in his absence.  He brought up that this rivalry has been going on since 1904.  That first game was won by the Lobos, 21-9.  They might have been playing by some different rules back then, and the peach baskets probably kept getting dislodged every time they were hit by a shot. 

The surprises kept coming.  I had my TV on while listening to the radio.  While I was flipping channels at the beginning of the game, I suddenly ran into the game on the continuous weather network.  Last year, I saw an Aggie Women’s Basketball game on that station, so it wasn’t totally unprecedented, it just wasn’t on the TV schedule.  Maybe the crowd tonight was big enough to lift a local blackout.  Adam Young was doing the duties here.  Sorry Adam, I kept the radio on and TV muted.  There was a slight delay, but how often do I get to hear Tim Hagerty doing basketball?  Still, it was great to be able to watch (and made me really wish I was there).          

NM State did what they could to promote the game.  Free t-shirts and foam fingers were handed out before the game.  As Jack Nixon said during a previous game, “Come on out and show Paul your finger.”  Chik-fil-a was running a free sandwich promotion if the Lobos missed two free throws in a row.  There were even tailgaters reported in the parking lot in the afternoon.  The next day, Athletic Director Mario Moccia reported the crowd at 6,900.  Capacity at the Pan-Am Center is 12,500+ (according to program information).  From watching TV, the seats in the rafters weren’t filled, but everything in the lower bowl was.  And the crowd was into it.  A titanic “boo” greeted the Lobos onto the court.  Another went up when Coach Weir was introduced.            

Things were bad to start.  The Lobos went up 8-1.  The Aggies didn’t score a field goal until five minutes in, and it took four attempts on that possession to get it in.  However, events turned around quickly.  On two separate plays within minutes of each other, Sidy N’Dir fed an “alley oop” to Johnny McCants for a jam to get the score close.  The crowd was completely jazzed by the plays, even more so because McCants is a local kid on the team.  A couple of minutes later, N’Dir took one in himself on a drive and dunk to give the Aggies a 17-16 lead.

The game kept getting chippier as it went along.  Right before the half, the Aggies managed two steals on the same transition, but a Lobo player fell on top of the thieving Aggie player.  Another Lobo roughly brushed by the Aggie, which caused a retaliation, which was what the referees saw when they called a technical.  Upon review, they reversed the call.  I’m not sure what the final verdict was though.  It was 31-18 Aggies at the half.

  

The Old Man got on camera in the first half waving a sign.  There was another sign that read “Weir in good Jans with NM State,” referring to current Aggie coach, Chris Jans.  The Aggies were not great in the half-court offense, but were really good when running.  However, that wasn’t their game plan for tonight, since running was the Lobo’s preferred style.  Adam was surprised by the low score.  Given the teams, he was sure going in that somebody would score 100.  The Aggies were annoyingly missing on 50% of their free throws.  The Lobos were shooting 50% on field goals, so the Aggies were fortunate to have the lead. 

The Aggies started off the second half with three three-pointers in a row.  40-30 Aggies.  The only thing stopping the Aggies was a delay by the officials to pick up some discarded gum on the floor.  None of the players took responsibility.  The student section, many of whom were wearing surgical masks for some reason, chanted, “It was Paul.”

The Lobos went to a full-court press later in the half and took to shooting threes.  The Aggies kept playing patiently and were trying to draw fouls.  N’Dir got a steal and took a hard foul.  The referees were starting to get angry with the players’ aggressive play.  Words were exchanged between players after a contested rebound.  Technicals were called on both teams, but a Lobos player was ejected.  With the Aggies up late in the half, 59-49, the crowd really got into it.  Adam reported, “Lou Henson Court is shaking.” 

Both teams started going up tempo.  69-55 the Aggies got a layup.  A frustrated Paul Weir said the wrong thing to an official afterward and got “T’ed” up.  That didn’t help his team, but did delight the crowd.  At 73-55, the student section was jumping and cheering.  The game was well-enough in hand that the Coach put out the bench for the last minute.  Our happy totals are: Aggies 75, Lobos 56 or Aggie fans get revenge and Paul Weir has to take it.  Our stat of the game: Aggies +25 in rebounds.  The team walked up the into the student section to rousing congratulations on their way to the locker room.     

   

About halfway through the game, I remembered I’d picked up a leftover Men’s scorecard at a Women’s game.  I could’ve kept a scorecard for this game.  (Weird things make me happy.)  Zach Lofton was the Aggie high-scorer with 28 in any case.  The Aggie defense held the Lobos under 100, which the Lobos’ previous two opponents this season could not do.    Coach Jans credited the fans for their support tonight.  I couldn’t help but notice all the newspaper did before and after the game was run articles about Weir and put his photogenic picture with them.  Jans was the forgotten man in this affair. 

I was happy for an Aggie victory.  Hearing Tim Hagerty in the off-season was great.  Getting to watch the game on TV was an unexpected bonus.  There was a bit of a scheduling conflict late in the game.  As advertised earlier in the week, The Contest episode of Seinfeld came on another channel.  It was the twenty-fifth anniversary broadcast.  I remember watching when that episode came on originally.  It was definite “water-cooler” talk when I went to work later that night.  I still laughing so hard, I could barely tell my co-worker what happened in the episode.