Aggie Basketball Journal January 1 to 9, 2020

1-2-19 WBB Aggies vs CBU Lancers

Didn’t I say I’d stop doing this?  Not today apparently.  Well, in this case, I watched most of the game over the WAC Digital Network, so I at least could say something about it.  If I told you that Aaliyah Prince didn’t play because she was out sick and Gia Pack only had two field goals in the game would ask how much the Aggies lost by?  That didn’t happen.  Heck, the Aggies were up by 9 at halftime.  The Lancers did have a slim lead near the end.  Down by a point with 7 seconds left, Adrianna Henderson drove the lane and lost the ball.  Gia got it and laid it in for the winning shot, 57-56 Aggies. 

So how did they do it?  Great defense (kept the Lancers well below their 79-point average) and rebounding (Gia 14 and Nana Sule 13).  Amanda Soderqvist started and led with 11 points.  The rest of the lineup and bench all contributed.  It was a great team win.  I’m sorry I wasn’t able to go to this game.  One, it was a really good Aggie win.  Two, those Lancer girls are pretty attractive, especially that Georgia Dale. 

1-4-20 MBB Aggies at CBU Lancers

This game was bad news for the Aggie Men right off the bat.  Previously injured Clayton Henry had broken his hand in a practice and would be out for the rest of the season.  He was going to be able to redshirt at least.  Things when well anyway at the start of the first half.  The Aggies built up a good lead with an 11-0 run at one point.  AJ Harris got a basket on a ricochet.  Jack Nixon reported that, “He didn’t call glass.”  He then directly into a commercial read, “Do you want a better banking experience?”  Groan.

However, some Aggie foul issues allowed the Lancers back into it with a 9-0 run.  CBU took a 37-36 lead going into halftime on a last second three.  Even worse, AJ came back out after the break with a shoe off from a turned ankle.  He didn’t play for the rest of the game.  No problem tonight though.  The Aggies came back and got their biggest lead of the night late.  Some players had four fouls, but that didn’t come into play, as the Aggies won 86-71.

Ivan Aurrecoechea led the team with 20 points and even had a rare three-pointer.  Johnny McCants had 17, including a couple of threes.  Terrell Brown was healthy and was looking good with 11 points.  The team was +7 in rebounds and were particularly good offensively.  They caused 17 turnovers and got 21 points off them, while keeping their own turnovers low at 9.  All that said, the team is nearly back where they started at the beginning of the season with both point guards injured.  Coach Jans didn’t seem hopeful about AJ.  Thank goodness they got Evan Gilyard in the interim.   

1-9-20 WBB at Chicago State Cougars

The Aggie Women looked good in their last game.  This time though they were playing a 16-0 team and would face a real test.  Wait.  I’m sorry.  I meant a 0-16 team.  Okay, it’s on the WAC Digital Network.  Let’s just watch some basketball waiting for the Men’s game to come on in an hour. 

Actually, I was kind of enjoying this game.  I liked CS announcer, whose name I did not catch even though I heard him say it at least three times.  He was very professional, except in promoting himself by clearly saying his own name.  It was single-camera coverage.  The game score shown in the corner of the picture was a shot of the actual arena scoreboard.  Chicago State’s Jones Convocation Center looks really nice.  I’d seen pictures of it before and also for a Chicago area High School All-star game.  However, there were only 108 in attendance officially for this game.  (The High School game filled the house.)

The Aggies got the scoring going early with Gia Pack, Aaliyah Prince, and even Didi Echols getting in on it.  The announcer was right on it when Gia scored and took over eighth place all-time in Aggie scoring.  He did have a problem with Adenike Aderinto’s name.  I don’t think he pronounced it the same way twice.  Just call her, “Nike.”  The Aggies had an 18-point lead at the half.   

The Cougars had a comeback in the second half.  Bethany Carstens from Alaska hit two 3’s in a row as part of a 10-2 CS run.  They got within 9 points, but it was back to 18 by end of the quarter.   The announcer dropped in a couple good lines: “I felt the breeze from that air ball,” and, “That bad pass was a fastball when an offspeed would have worked fine.”

The Aggies won 73-60.  Chicago State played hard and didn’t go away.  The Cougars went to midcourt after the game and thanked the fans there, a bit like a softball team.  Gia Pack led with 20 points and 11 rebounds.  Aaliyah Prince had 12.  Much of the rest of the team chipped in well.  The Cougars had four players in double figures.  Bethany had 11 and three three-pointers.  The Aggies only had two 3’s total.  The teams were almost even in turnovers (17 to 20), but it was 15 to 5 in steals for the Aggies.

The Chicago State coach stiffed the broadcaster for a postgame interview.  Why wouldn’t she talk to him?  He seemed like such a nice guy.  The guy did mention that there’s a new chancellor and athletic director at the college and that their teams are working on a rebuild.  I guess this means the school is out of financial trouble.  A couple of years ago, it sounded like they were about to shut the doors.   

1-9-20 MBB vs Chicago State Cougars

I picked up this game at halftime on the WAC Digital Network, as it overlapped with the Women’s away game.  Yes, this seems like a questionable choice, but the CS Men were 31-point underdogs for this game.  I figured the Women might be more competitive.  I didn’t realize I was missing seeing the lovely Emerson at the press table for the whole game.  There was only one camera for the game, like the Women at Chicago State.  She was in the shot for the much of the game.  (Actually, it was a long shot.  It was hard to tell it was her there.) 

I’d already heard the big news for this game the day before on the Aggies Coach’s Show.  AJ Harris did break his ankle in the previous game and was out for the season.  I’d talked to Ron earlier in the day about the Saturday game.  He was planning on going to this game, since he wanted the giveaway hat. 

Anyway, it was 46-24 when I started watching at the half.  I was mostly finding the little break conversations between Jack Nixon and Justin Hawkins interesting, as they were accidently broadcasting them instead of the commercials.  A fan made a halfcourt putt for a prize.  The guys were jazzed and amazed watching the ball go in.  Later, Jack had gotten the trivia question wrong for the second game in a row.  He got down on himself for it.  They had a little chat near the end to decide which player to interview after the game. 

With about three minutes left, local favorites Bryce Rewalt and Tennessee Owens came into the game to a big cheer from the crowd.  This was the first time I’d actually seen them on court.  The guys did look a bit undersized compared to everyone else on court.  That didn’t hurt their shooting though.  “Tennessee for three!” Jack coined that one tonight (maybe?), as he casually hit a three.  He hit another one and Bryce dropped one in before the end.  93-54 Aggies was the final.  CS didn’t cover the spread.  Trevelin Queen had 17 points.  Jabari Rice and Ivan Aurrecoechea both had 14.  Ivan even had a three. 

Ron emailed me this missive after the game: “Got a hat, was on other end from cheerleaders, the two short white guys came into the game with three minutes left & made some 3 pt shots.”  Good summary.  I told a co-worker about the game.  He said, “Yeah, I know Tennessee Owens.  I have all his albums.”

Hot Stove Baseball 2019

This seems like as good a place as any to go ahead and comment on MLB’s off season.  Unlike last year, there was plenty of action this winter.  Thank goodness the Players’ Union won’t have to strike now because free agent contracts weren’t large enough and weren’t handed out quickly enough.  I almost couldn’t enjoy last season because of that.    

Annoyingly, I did miss all of the Winter Meetings coverage on the MLB Network.  I always like watching some of that.  Unfortunately, I was too wrapped up to tune in (because I watching Crisis on Infinite Earths).  After last season, the baseball media was talking about doing away with the owners’ meeting because nothing had happened there for a couple of years. 

I felt the biggest story and question mark in the offseason was actually involving the minor leagues.  The latest issue of Baseball America has two articles on it.  The MLB wants to contract the number of minor league teams in 2021.  Their agreement with the MiLB is in some jeopardy.  Honestly, I didn’t realize these were two totally separate organizations that only had an understanding between them to work with.     

The MLB wants to eliminate a bunch of lower-level clubs and a few Double-A ones.  They feel they don’t really need that many minor league players.  Perhaps everyone’s sabermetrics on prospects are good enough that they can tell who has a legit chance of making the big leagues without seeing them in a season of Short Season A-ball.  In any case, MiLB owns the clubs, but the MLB pays the players.  If they don’t want them, then that’s their prerogative.

That said, eliminating teams is going to ruin local support for baseball and degrade the sport in general.  MiLB owners thought they had affiliated clubs to promote.  If an outside entity can suddenly end them, it makes their investment nearly whimsical.  The value of everyone’s minor league franchise just went down.  The MLB thought some of these lower clubs didn’t have good facilities, little chance for improvement, and no nearby options for relocation.  The clubs listed for elimination now have no chance of improvement.  (BA listed the Lexington Legends as team on the chopping block.  They also listed them as one of their organizations of the year.)   

This is a difficult issue.  It’s likely good for the MLB, but bad for baseball in general.  The MLB offered a bone in terms of providing funds for unaffiliated ball for some of the eliminated teams, but that would just make them more unviable without a connection to the big leagues.  There is a possibility that there will not be a continuation of the MLB/MiLB contract.  Minor leaguers would then continue to play at the MLB spring training facilities.  (Nice for the fans living in those areas.) 

What happens to the El Paso Chihuahuas and the rest of minor league baseball?  Who knows?  This is a big issue, at least for me and any other minor league fan that roots for a local team.  They’ve got a year to work this out.  Frighteningly, MiLB has involved congress.  This could go very badly.

The other big question marks that haven’t been answered to this point are a couple of potential trades that have not happened and may not.  I’m referring to the rumors about the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado and the Indians’ Francisco Lindor.  Both players are under contract for now, but the whispers have been loud.  The Indians probably won’t be able to keep Lindor when he becomes a free agent.  The Rockies had such a bad year that that huge extension they gave Arenado now looks like a boat anchor.

The baseball media’s purpose in enthusiastically reporting this (other than just generating news) is that they want the Dodgers to upgrade themselves with these players to get them to the World Series again.  Seriously, that’s it.  I’m not even sure the Dodgers even wanted to make a deal for either player as much as the media does.  I think Lindor will be with the Indians for now.  The question with the Rockies is: Do they have an actual good team that just had a bad year?  Or, are they a bad team with some good players? 

Just to connect the thread, I’ll “homer” out here and talk about the Rangers’ moves first.  They were rumored to want Nolan to fill that Adrian Beltre-sized hole at third base.  That’d be a great fit.  Now who do the Rangers trade for him?  That’s the question.  They could afford him and would want him for the new ballpark.  The only deal I could think of would involve Joey Gallo.  Ouch, but it’s an exchange that might help both teams. 

Gallo took some BP at the unfinished new park late in the year for some publicity.  I’d heard there was a fire there later, but didn’t get any details.  The Rangers have reworked their starting pitching rotation and now have Corey Kluber.  I think this will improve the team, but we don’t know how the park will play.  Outgoing, Nomar Mazara was traded for a minor leaguer.  I guess they gave up on him. 

The Rangers were also in on the bidding for Anthony Rendon for third base.  He ended up going to the Angels.  From this seven-year, $245M deal, we can surmise their ownership learned nothing from the Albert Pujols deal that they’re still cursed with.  Rendon was good in a contract year and in the playoffs, but those are exactly the kind of players you want to avoid overpaying for.  He can only go downhill from here. 

We kept hearing in the postseason how great Rendon was before this year, it’s just that nobody ever talked about him.  Maybe he was just living Bryce Harper’s shadow, or, more likely, he had a career year at just the right time.  Angels fans should be more excited about Shohei Ohtani being cleared to pitch this season.

Oh, alright!  The Yankees got Gerrit Cole and will win the next five World Series.  Are you all happy now!  For what they paid for him ($324M over nine years), they are expecting multiple championships.  Little wonder they beat out the Angels in the bidding.  (Maybe they learn something from the Pujols contract.) 

I think we can all figure out that the Yankees are not going to get nine years of good pitching from Cole.  To be honest, as happy as he was signing with New York, he was awfully petulant at the end of the 2019 World Series.  Not the best teammate material there.  The “best” pitcher did fail to deliver a championship for two years with the Astros, who are probably a better team than the Yankees.  I have no trouble seeing this either being a spectacular success, or the Yankees paying somebody to remove a cancer from the team.    

The Rays traded Tommy Pham to the Padres for Hunter Renfroe.  Pham was the heart of the Rays in 2019.  Teammates and fans in Tampa Bay were not happy.  Rays pitcher, Blake Snell, found out about the trade live while gaming on Twitch and had some choice words.  An MLB player is a streamer?  This is intriguing.  Who else does this? 

The Reds got Mike Moustakas from the Brewers.  Cincinnati has picked up some pitching too.  They may have a chance to win the NL Central as the other teams in the division haven’t made any winning offseason moves yet.  The Brewers have lost a bunch of players.  I wonder what their strategy is. 

Finally, a few deals that I found interesting.  Stephen Strassburg went back to the Nationals.  This makes sense.  Don’t count this team out of the playoffs in 2020.  Zack Wheeler went to the Phillies, Dellin Betances went to the Mets, but NL East is really waiting to see what the Braves do.  Dallas Keuchel went to the White Sox.  The AL Central is a very weak division and I think the Sox are making a move.  Hyun-Jin Ryu went to the Blue Jays.  Their all-legacy team featuring the sons of past Major Leaguers is still going to need some more pitching help. 

Lastly, the Giants’ big move was signing Gabe Kapler as their manager.  Two under-performing seasons in Philadelphia is more than enough experience to take over for future Hall-of-Famer, Bruce Bochy.  At least he’ll be getting some more minor league coaching experience that he didn’t get before taking the Philly job.  Look for Buster Posey to be actually managing the team.  On a related note, Madison Bumgarner went to the Diamondbacks as future mid-season trade bait to the Yankees.  Okay, we’re done here.  I’ll see you later in my preseason baseball special with any other baseball news in the meantime.

NHL Winter Classic Nashville Predators vs Dallas Stars 1-1-20

Ah, the stars aligned this year.  I was up and ready.  Reception was decent on an otherwise iffy station.  Weather conditions at the site of the game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas were good.  I was going to get to see some hockey to start the New Year. 

It was overcast in the Metroplex and about 50 degrees, but no precipitation.  Sun and rain had spoiled some previous Winter Classics for me.  It was reported that the whole hockey setup had been virtually destroyed by a massive rainstorm recently, but had been reconstructed.  From the pregame, Dallas was going all out.  They had a virtual state fair set up outside the stadium, including a large Ferris wheel.  Dallas also turned out for the game.  85,000 were there.  There was a large section wearing yellow in the stadium.  The Predator fans had travelled for the game. 

A horse troop led out the players out to the rink.  Members of the First Cavalry were the honor guard.  A country singer from a singing completion show did the Anthem with a distinctive twang.  Every time he sang the word, “Star,” the crowd would shout it out.  I’m guessing that’s tradition at Stars’ games.

Dad came over to watch.  He’s not a hockey fan, but was willing to come over to hangout and for lunch.  I hopped over to McAlisters next door for sandwiches.  I’m surprised by how many places are open on New Years.  (The sandwiches were great, but messy.  Toppings kept falling out on my floor.)  Dad had gotten me a hockey yearbook magazine for Christmas.  I’d read up on the teams last night.  They scouted as good teams with good centers and goalies.  In actual play this season, Dallas was okay, but Nashville was on a losing streak.   

First Period

Right out of the box, the game started with two massive hits on the same play.  The teams had some bad blood carrying over from last season’s playoffs and their previous meeting this season.  One of the hits was a cheap shot that leveled Predator, Ryan Ellis.  He had to come out of the game.  As tough as hockey players are (and as much as they probably love playing in this outdoor game), you know that he had to be really hurt.  The offending player, Corey Perry, was ejected from the game.  Only a couple of minutes had gone off on the clock and his day was over.  Worse, Perry had to make a long walk across the field by himself to go to the locker room.  He’d have to watch the game on TV like the rest of us.

Worse for the Stars, it was a five-minute major.  Broadcaster Mike Emrick explained that meant that the Predators were on a power play for five minutes and that a goal didn’t end it.  Yikes!  It got worse.  The Stars incurred another penalty for firing the puck out of play, so it was five-on-three.  According to the yearbook, the Predators were 31-st in the league in converting on power plays last year, out of 31 teams.  Today, they converted twice for a 2-0 lead before the penalties ended.  Matt Duchene and Dante Fabbro were the scoring players.

Stars player, Denis Gurianov was tripped on a breakaway in front of the Nashville goal.  This resulted in a penalty shot, instead of just a penalty.  We’re learning all sorts of hockey rules today.  However, the shot was blocked.  During the first break, there was a piglet race in a racetack/pen on field.  It was majestic.  There was another massive hit.  This one caused a fight that resulted in dual minors and a four-on-four.  Perhaps the pivotal play in the game came late.  Stars goalie, Ben Bishop, stopped a point blank shot and a couple more at the horn.  This kept the score at 2-0 Predators.

Second Period

Some band performed during the first intermission, but I flipped over to the Michigan/Alabama bowl game, which dad probably would have rather watched.  Here it is New Year’s Day and there’s only one bowl game on over-the-air TV.  In any case, I could have told dad who was going to win this game before it started, but Michigan did have a slim lead at halftime before inevitably losing.

The announcers laughed at a mini-commercial during a pause in play.  A US Women’s Hockey member trash-talked an NHL player.  There was a sequel to that commercial later on.  Predator goalie Pekka Rinne stopped a wraparound shot and then caught a popup on a stop.  Several players later got involved in an altercation that resulted in a Predator power play.  Upon expiration of the penalty, the offending player, Tyler Seguin, came right out of the box and took a shot.  The Stars got a follow up on it and that got the huge crowd roaring.

The announcers were loose and happy calling the game.  Coming out of a break, they showed three of the guys eating a giant corndog, a turkey leg, and a fried Snickers bar respectively.  With his co-workers otherwise engaged, Emrick attempted to read an ad copy, but didn’t have it in front of him and it didn’t match the TV graphic.  The guys all had a laugh and the food was delicious.

Dallas had a power play, but the Predators actually had the best chance at a goal in a short-handed opportunity.  But right after the teams went to full strength, the Stars got a beauty of an assist from Jason Dickinson for a goal by Blake Comeau.  2-1 Predators.  After that, a collision into the boards actually briefly knocked out both players.  The Stars had a power play late on an out-of-bounds shot.  They even pulled the goalie with two seconds left, but didn’t score at the time.

Third Period

Dad had to leave, but he’d actually enjoyed what he saw.  This was probably hockey at its best; rough, but skillful.  He jumped a bit seeing loose pucks around the net, which means you’re into it.  He thought the Stars probably weren’t going to come back because of the hole they’d dug in the first period.  I thought they still had a chance, since the Predators weren’t making a lot of chances for themselves after those goals.

The power play penalty from the last period carried over.  The Stars tied it on a deflection by Mattias Janmark from a shot by John Klingberg about a minute in.  Tied 2-2.  The crowd started going crazy.  The Stars got a one-on-one chance, but the shot hit the post.  The Stars began peppering Rinne with shots.  As the crowd got louder, the Predators’ coach called their timeout. 

The break music in the stadium was Friends in Low Places.  The crowd howled along with it.  Dallas got a power play.  On an open look, Alexander Radulov took a big wind up and fired one at lightspeed.  The goalie had no chance.  3-2 Stars.  A minute later during a scrum at the Predators’ net, Andrej Sekera put it in to put the Stars up 4-2. 

The Predators started pressing the attack.  There were some light fisticuffs.  The TV direction started going to an overhead camera shot, which was a different view on the game.  With 2:30 left, Nashville pulled their goalie.  Dallas ended up taking four empty net shots from across the ice and held the puck behind the net at one point, but all those shots missed.  With five seconds left, Bishop made a snow angel in front of the net to freeze a loose puck underneath him. 

The Stars finished it out, 4-2.  The teams lined up and shook hands.  The Stars then held up their sticks to salute the cheering crowd.  They then all got together and posed for a picture at center ice.  This was a lot of fun.  It was so fun, I missed a bunch of player names during the action and had to look them up online later.  No excuse.  I had the yearbook with all the player names in front of me.  I don’t know how much more hockey I’ll be able to see during the season, but I saw a good one here.

The 86-th Sun Bowl Florida State Seminoles vs Arizona State Sun Devils 12-31-19

Finally, I got to watch to a full Sun Bowl.  Usually, work interferes with me seeing the whole thing, but this time, even with a long halftime, it all fit in before I had to go.  I seem to remember, the only times I’ve gotten to see the game otherwise were when it fell on a weekend and that one time I was out sick (and fell asleep during the game). 

We have a new sponsor this year: Tony the Tiger.  He’s promoting fundraising for youth sports.  At first, the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl was a bit awkward, but eventually it grew on people.  Tony did a commercial to intro the game.  They’re using a new voice for him and it was awkward in general.  There was another one later where he was talking to an athlete that was more polished.  We got a “Grrrreat!” and that made all the difference.  Tony was at the stadium.  They showed him leading on the crowd on the sidelines.

It was clear, but cold up in the Franklin Mountains.  We’ll call it good football weather.  (One of these days, I gotta go.)  There was officially a slight breeze, but the broadcasters assured the viewers that it was stronger than that.  The crowd was listed at 42,000.  Arizona State is relatively nearby and Florida State travels well.  The good matchup probably attracted a lot of locals. 

It looked like a full house . . . except for that large construction area under the pressbox.  They started a major remodeling job right after the regular season and lost several hundred seats that might have actually filled.  They would have been nice seats too.  It was like they’d forgotten about this whole bowl game thing.  From the architect’s pictures, the lounge area is going to look great when it’s done.  Oh wait, I meant, Grrrrreat!  

The pregame reported that, due to draft considerations, both teams were missing their leading rushers.  This might have accounted for some problematic play in the game.  They showed ASU Coach Herm Edwards greeting travelling Arizona State fans in the stands.  I could hear Jon Teicher, voice of the Miners, doing the PA duties.  (I didn’t find the game on the radio.)  Teicher was in Florida calling a Men’s Basketball game the next day.  What a busy guy.  The CBS announcers were pretty giddy and having a good time calling the game.  Retired, long-time announcer, Verne Lundquist, was reportedly watching the game at home.

First Quarter

It was a nervous start for both teams.  ASU fumbled on their first play from scrimmage. Florida State was then intercepted in the end zone.  ASU nearly ran it back.  The Sun Devil player was only pulled down by his t-shirt by the last defender.  FS got the ball back.  On one play, their quarterback, James Blackman, couldn’t find a receiver and scrambled into the open field.  As he was about to go into a slide, he was leveled.  The back of his head bounced off the field.  The ASU player, Khaylan Thomas, then taunted him while on the ground.  Amazingly, the player was not ejected.  ASU blocked the FS field goal attempt.

There was another fumble by Blackman, this time on a sack.  ASU was deep in FS territory.  A touchdown pass was called back on a questionable penalty.  After another penalty, the announcers told the officials to pick up their flags and let them play.  ASU settled for a field goal. 3-0 ASU.  FS fired a super deep bomb that was broken up downfield with a great hit by Kej Markham.

Second Quarter

The broadcasters interviewed the new incoming FS coach, Mike Norvell, in the booth.  He would be taking over after this game.  ASU fumbled again.  On an FS punt back to ASU, a blocker pushed into returner, which set their starting point near their own endzone.  No problem.  ASU’s Kyle Williams broke off a 77-yard run off a screen from scrimmage from their own 10.  However, this only lead to another field goal.  6-0 ASU.  ASU intercepted on the next series.  Another touchdown pass waved off on review for the ball not being under control.  The receiver, AJ Carter, high-fived the ref after his initial touchdown call.  They settled on yet another field goal.  9-0 ASU.  The CBS director seemed infatuated with one of the ASU cheerleaders.  He kept showing her on camera.  (Good taste.)

Halftime

Unfortunately, they didn’t show any of the on-field activities, but just went back to the studio.  Like as last year though, one of the analysts got out a guitar and serenaded the season in college football.  That was pretty great actually.  Back to El Paso, there was a heartfelt broadcast team goodbye to a retiring camera operator on the field.  The gorgeous sideline reporter gave him a big hug afterward.

Third Quarter

FS made a long drive and scored a touchdown to make it, 9-7 ASU.  They had a two-pass trick play in the red zone to keep the drive going.  FS got the ball right back.  In a break, up on the big video screen, an FS fan proposed and it was accepted.  Blackman fired another deep bomb, this one from FS’s own 9, and it went for a touchdown by Tamorrion Terry.  Florida State took the lead 14-9.

Fourth Quarter

ASU came back with a field goal to make it 1, 4-12 FS.  A long QB run by Jayden Daniels and a pass interference penalty kept the drive going.  Blackman was intercepted again.  ASU’s Willie Harts ran it back for a TD.  They went for two.  It was broken up, but a penalty gave them a second try.  Daniels ran it in on a naked bootleg, surrounded by five defenders.  He managed to fake them out and just fall in. 

FS had the ball back.  They went for it on fourth down on their end of field and made it but didn’t make it on another fourth down on ASU end.  “The Butler did it,” the announcers said after Darien Butler broke up the play.  Let’s all groan at that prepared statement.  ASU punted, but then got another interception.  Kaylan Thomas made a very athletic pick.  James Blackman had four interceptions and a fumble to this point.  His teammates gathered around him on the sidelines to encourage him not to give up.

FS had the ball back with under two minutes left.  Blackman took a bad sack that put the team near their own goal line.  But next, he threw up a ball into double coverage.  The FS receiver, Keith Gavin, jumped up and got it for a big reception down field.  Unfortunately, Terry fumbled on next play to functionally end the game.  That was their sixth turnover.

20-14 ASU was the final.  Herm Edwards got a barrel of Frosted Flakes cereal dumped on him after the win.  The player of the game (as far I’m concerned) was the ASU kicker, Cristian Zendejas.  He was nails.  This wasn’t a well-played game.  It might not have even been a good game, but it was certainly interesting and close.  One day, I’ll see one of these in person.  (It’ll be one of those snowstorm games with high winds.  It’ll be great . . . errr . . . Grrrrreat!)

Aggie Men’s Basketball Journal December 2019

(And a couple of other sports included.)

12-3-19 vs UTEP Miners

Aggie Men’s Basketball beat the Miners in Las Cruces, 59-56.  I admit was kind of just listening in the background while I was at work.  I only took a few notes.  It was a very close game all the way.  At the end, good defense (or cold shooting) took over.  The Aggies didn’t score a field goal for the last six minutes, and the Miners didn’t for the last five minutes.  Foul shooting, however, was clutch on both ends.  CJ Bobbitt scored the last four Aggie points on free throws to put NMSU up by 3.  The Miners got two shots off in the final seconds, but couldn’t connect to tie it.

This was the Miners first loss of the season, but extended their 14-game road losing streak from last season.  Their star, Bryson Williams, had 27 points, and that was even being the focal point of the Aggies’ defense.  For the Aggies, CJ Bobbitt busted out with 14 points, including a pair of back-to-back threes.  Johnny McCants had 13, and Jabari Rice had 10. 

After listening to the Aggies’ postgame show, I flipped over to KROD out of El Paso to get the Miner postgame.  It’s great to hear the opposing coach praise your team after a game.  Miner Coach Rodney Terry singled out McCants, who’d scored well in the paint.  They’d done a great job defending on Trevelin Queen and Terrell Brown, but didn’t expect other guys on the team to make up the difference. 

I held on to listen to the Miner Talk call-in show.  A lot of the callers were at game, some were still stuck in the parking lot.  I thought I had heard a sizeable UTEP fan contingent during play.  The fans were mad at one particular Miner player that didn’t do well, and at the coach for leaving him in.  Casually, it was mentioned that their game broadcast has 20,000 listeners.  I have no idea what the Aggie listenership is.  (The Aggie broadcast also goes out to affiliates in other cities in the state and in El Paso).

12-7-19 vs Washington State Cougars

Aggie Men’s Basketball played on the road at Washington State on Saturday.  Dad and I were listening on the radio after being out that afternoon.  Neither Jack Nixon nor Adam Young were calling the game surprisingly.  The paper ran a story that Jack was taking time off for fatigue.  The article emphasized that he’d be back.  Jack was back doing morning news updates after the weekend.  I don’t know where Adam was, as he wasn’t calling this game or the Aggies’ NCAA Volleyball game.

  

While we had the Men’s game on, I set dad up with a new TV antenna.  He’s only been able to get two stations, so I got him a better antenna with better placement.  It worked fairly well.  There were some conference championship college football games on, but there was a heavyweight fight on a Mexican station. 

I’d heard about this bout from a co-worker, but didn’t know the time, so I was lucky to run into it.  I think I’d told dad about it, too.  I described it as some big fat guy boxing to defend a championship.  Indeed, it was Andy Ruiz (the fat guy) versus Anthony Joshua (a tall well-built black guy).  Honestly, just looking at the two, it seemed like a joke, rather than a serious boxing match. 

The fight was being held in an open-air arena in Saudi Arabia, which accounted for the odd start time.  Also oddly, it was raining there.  Give the fat guy credit, he could box.  He was quite quick and agile.  Anytime Joshua attempted to wrap-up with him, Ruiz would rain down blows on him.  However, Joshua mostly dominated the fight.  He put a cut over Ruiz’s eye in the first round, but that never really came into play.  The decision really wasn’t in doubt for Joshua.  Afterward, I found out Ruiz had come into the fight 15 lbs overweight.  The girlfriend of my co-worker had spoken to his trainer.  He told her that Ruiz didn’t show up for training for three months.  The only thing more unbelievable than that is that Ruiz is a top level boxer to begin with. 

I was muting the match between rounds to hear the radio, but obviously I missed most of the basketball game.  The Aggies were behind for most of it and never caught up.  WS was up by nine at the half.  Ivan Aurrecoechea missed most of the first half after collecting two fouls.  His appearance in the second half sparked the team to a comeback and got the Aggies within three, but 63-54 Washington State was the final.  Jabari Rice led with 14 points, Trevelin Queen had 12, and Ivan had 8.  17 turnovers killed the Aggies today, which led to 17 WS points.

12-11-19 vs Denver U Pioneers

The Aggie Men bounced back with a 72-67 win over Denver.  I was listening over the radio at work and caught parts of it.  Terrell Brown sat out most of the game with an injury, so team was shorthanded.  The Aggies didn’t have a problem though, as they led by 18 before  the half.  Denver did not go away and played the Aggies tough at the end.  Some fatigue might have come into play there.  

Jabari Rice led with 18 points and led in assists.  Trevelin Queen had 15, Ivan Aurrecoechea had 14, and Johnny McCants had 12.  Two Denver players scored in the 20’s.  The Pioneers did not foul.  The Aggies only got their first foul shot in last five minutes of the game.  There were also apparently lots of Aggie fans there.  AD Mario Moccia did a good job bringing in alumni in the area.

12-14-19 vs UNM Lobos

I was listening to this game at home, but honestly didn’t feel like sitting around taking a bunch of notes.  It was basically a sellout at the Pit in Albuquerque for the game.  At the half, the Aggies led 33-31.  Jabari Rice and Johnny McCants hit threes and rest of the scoring was pretty well distributed.  The Aggie defense locked it down at the end of the half.

The Lobos went on a big run at the start of the second half and got the crowd into it.  At 42-35 Lobos, the Aggies took a timeout.  NMSU then went on a 12-point run and tied it at 44 on a Trevelin Queen three.  The Lobos came back and retook the lead, but the Aggies came back again from 12 down.  It was 56-54 Lobos, with three minutes left, when the Aggies gave up two offensive rebounds on one possession.  It was a bad precursor to some poor play.  The Lobos started to pull away.  Jack Nixon commented, “The Aggies look like the Keystone Cops.  I suppose very people listening got that reference.  We’ll just say they look very disorganized.”  69-62 Lobos was the final.

22 turnovers were the main difference in play.  The Lobos also made and attempted a bunch more free throws.  Trevelin Queen led all scorers with 19 points.  Coach Jans almost forgot to come out for the interview.  He sounded so depressed after losing both games to the Lobos this season.  Jack mentioned that injured AJ Harris was working out with the team before the game.  Jans answered, “Jack, I know you’re trying to make me feel better.  Thank you.”

12-18-19 vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions

The Aggies blew this one out 65-40 against the Golden Lions.  I totally forgot about the game.  I had it written down.  I had a window open ready to bring up the video or radio call (whatever was available).  I just blitzed it.  This was a significant game for the team, as former Miner, Evan Gilyard, made his debut.  He’d just gotten his eligibility to play this season.  Coach Jans asked him beforehand if he wanted to play or if he wanted to redshirt the rest of the season.  Evan said he was hurt even being asked the question; of course he wanted to play.  Ivan Aurrecoechea went off with 19 points to lead the team.  Bryce Rewalt, a local walk-on player, came in late and hit a three to the delight of the crowd.  There was also a Teddy Bear toss for Toys for Tots at the half.  It’s usually a pretty majestic sight as a multitude of teddy bears fly on to the court.

12-22-19 vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

This road game came on Sunday afternoon.  I was actually watching a couple of Women’s College Basketball games on Stadium when it came on the radio.  About halfway through the game, I went over to my dad’s apartment to watch the Cowboys’ game (the less said about that the better).  We kept listening to the Aggies though and certainly got more entertainment out of that than the football.

The Aggies were playing MSS (like I’m spelling out that state name every time) in Jackson, which isn’t the Bulldogs’ home, so this was technically a neutral site.  The Aggies were in their home whites.  Actually, both teams have the same colors.  The scouting report on the Bulldogs was that they were big, really big, like the second tallest team in the nation.  For the Aggies, Robert Brown has transferred out of the program.  (When does the NCAA start allowing trades and a having a draft?)  However, AJ Harris was cleared to play.

Both teams were extremely tight at the start of play.  Johnny McCants opened up the scoring with a three two minutes into the game.  AJ came in early off the bench, but fell down on his first play.  11 minutes in, the Aggies still only had one basket and one free throw.  The good news was that the Bulldogs weren’t doing that well either.  They did have an 8-4 lead, until Evan Gilyard came in off the bench to put down a couple of free throws.  He then gave the Aggies a 9-8 lead with a three.                  

Trevelin Queen added on with a stickback bucket in the paint.  Evan picked up a couple of assists, one to Ivan Aurrecoechea and a dunk by Trev.  Nick Witherspoon on the Bulldogs picked up his third foul and came out.  However, Ivan and Evan also picked up two fouls and came out.  The Bulldogs began a comeback, but AJ got his first points, a three, to make it 21-17.  It was 23-21 Aggies at the half.  The Aggies were +8 in rebounds to this point.

The second half started with a bang from McCants.  He got a steal and a jam and then followed up with a three.  Trevelin took the lead up to 30-21 with a layup after he momentarily lost the ball going into the lane.  After a McCants’ layup, the Bulldogs took a timeout.  Two minutes in and the Aggies were on 9-0 run.  McCants then got a block out of the break.  Witherspoon picked up his fourth foul going after Gilyard.  McCants popped another three, along with Jabari Rice getting his first points with a three.  38-27 Aggies.

McCants jammed another and Gilyard put in a three to make it 43-31 with 11 minutes left.  Fouls started coming into play.  Ivan came out with four fouls.  The Bulldogs dropped the Aggie lead from 12 to 4.  Witherspoon fouled out to the MSS coach’s disgust, but they were still overwhelming inside with a pair of treetops (6’10” and 6’11”).  The Aggies had no answer for them, as the Bulldogs took the lead with two minutes left.

It was a short-lived deficit.  Gilyard got the Aggies back in the lead, 55-53, with a layup with 30 seconds left.  McCants, who was just doing everything today, got a steal with 15 seconds left.  CJ Bobbitt hit a free throw.  Jabari got a turnover and was fouled.  He made a free throw to ice the game.  Aggies won 58-52.  Nice.

Johnny McCants had a huge game with 18 points and contributing in every other way in the game, except for selling concessions.  (Wait, let me check his Twitter.  Oops, my mistake.  There’s a picture of him selling popcorn in the stands at halftime.)  Evan Gilyard followed with 14 points.  Thanks for the early Christmas present UTEP.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns into a gift that keeps on giving.  Coach Jans was ebullient in the postgame and talking to the team afterward.  This was the first win for Aggie Men’s Basketball against an SEC team since the 90’s, but more so, the team really came together here against a squad of Goliaths.  Great job.

12-28-19 WBB vs Abilene Christian Wildcats

I remember the Aggie Women playing Abilene Christian here last year (11-20-18).  That game was a rude shock, though we did get treated to the sight of Brooke Salas coaching.  Consider that a preview a coming attractions one day.  This year, for this road game, the Wildcats were an even better team at 9-1 and the Aggies were much worse.  I remembered Dominique Golightly from the previous game, mostly for her name.  I had no idea “Golightly” was an actual name, apart from a fictional character.  The team also had a former Aggie commit in Makayla Mabry, who left when Coach Trakh left.  I missed the pregame, in spite of my best efforts, but the scouting report was that the Wildcats made lots of threes.  A couple of their players were shooting over 40%.

ACU jumped out to a good lead in the beginning of the first quarter.  This was mostly thanks to a couple of wide open looks for threes.  But, a couple of turnovers and a three by Amanda Soderqvist, got the Aggies back into it.  It was 18-13 ACU after ten minutes.  In the second quarter, the Wildcats started scoring on the inside and then shot some more from the outside.  They went up by 14 at one point.  I swear Aggie broadcaster Adam Young was starting to root ACU on because of their impressive play.  35-24 ACU at the half.

By three minutes into the third quarter, the Wildcat lead was up to 20.  Aaliyah Prince’s first points came as she made a bad pass off a defender, got the deflection, and put in a jumper.  Prince was bright spot in the quarter as she scored 8 points.  54-34 ACU after three quarters.  “Wright has done everything right.  Pardon the pun,” Adam commented on Breanna Wright’s afternoon as she came out late in the fourth quarter with 23 points.  A Wildcat player was injured late and had to be helped off.  Amanda took an apparent punch to the gut and then made two threes in a row.  Don’t make her angry.  The final was 67-54 ACU.

Coach Atkinson still sounded upbeat in the postgame.  No point in not being optimistic with a 3-10 record.  Actually she was pleased that the team had held the Wildcats under their season average of 90 points a game.  ACU also averages 20 turnovers on the opposition.  The Aggies only had 12.  The Aggies were -8 in rebounds though.  Amanda Soderqvist led the Aggies with 14 points on 4 threes.  Gia Pack had a quiet 13 points.  Interestingly, there was a cool jazz soundtrack in the background while Adam was giving the final stats.  They’re fairly classy there in Abilene. 

12-29-19 vs NNM Eagles

There was good news for Aggie Men’s Basketball right at the start of this game.  Clayton Henry was cleared to play.  Coach Jans asked him if he wanted to redshirt for the rest of the season, but he was good to go.  It’s encouraging that Clayton, AJ Harris, and Evan Gilyard all chose to play, even if it was only for half a season.  Jabari Rice and Terrell Brown were going to sit out this game for nagging injuries, but could have played.  On the Northern New Mexico side, in addition to being a DII school, they only had eight players with them.  They’d recently dismissed three players because of a fight on court, and their top two scorers weren’t there either.  It was going to be an uphill game for the Eagles.

Johnny McCants started the Aggie scoring with a three.  Two steals lead to layups.  AJ hit a three.  Timeout Eagles, two minutes in, and it was 10-2 Aggies already.  Clayton came into the game and his first shot of the season was a three.  Gilyard hit a three.  I think I can see a pattern here.  22-6 Aggies with 11 minutes left in the half.  Jack Nixon and Justin Hawkins kind of stopped giving constant score updates around this time.  The Aggies were subbing in and out a lot as the coach said he’d do today. 

I should mention I was listening to this game with earbuds in at my dad’s apartment, while watching the Cowboys’ final meaningless game of the season.  Suddenly, I’m hearing strange noise and my pants pocket was vibrating and flashing.  Oh, it’s my phone.  I’m still not used to his cell phone thing.  I left the room and turned off my radio and had a nice chat with an out-of-town friend for about a half hour.  It was getting late when I finished, so I ended up leaving afterward.

Walking home, I had the radio back on.  They were just coming out of halftime.  I think the score was 63-12 Aggies.  They’d had a productive half.  They were close to setting a program record for threes.  Late in the second, Tennessee Owens, a local product and my favorite name on the team, came in and hit a three for his first points.  Another Las Crucen, Bryce Rewalt, came in to the cheers of the crowd.  He took a three that went in and out.  The crowd groaned, but he came back and hit the next one to the roar of the crowd.  He hit another which was the team’s twentieth and a new record. 

The final was 104-30 Aggies.  I’m almost embarrassed to write that.  Trevelin Queen led with 17 points.  Two others had 12, but everyone scored.  Coach Jans was happy in the postgame because there were lots of assists as well.  The Cowboys’ postgame was going on at the same time with Coach Jason Garrett, so I was flipping back-and-forth.  Bryce was interviewed.  He sounds like he’s fourteen.  Bryce also played football and golf in high school.  His sister is on the Cheerleading squad, and he had a bunch of friends and family at the game.  He told Jack that him and dad used to listen to him doing games, and it was unreal being interviewed by him.  Jack was nearly at a loss for words after that.

I’ve really struggled to keep up the blogging lately.  I’m lacking some motivation.  I don’t know if I’ll continue covering the Men’s and Women’s games this season, unless I’m at their games.  I plan on going to the Women’s games on the weekends.  I’m not sure how well they’ll do in conference.  I hope to go to one or two Men’s games.  I’m a lot higher on them.  They’re finally healthy and even have a good new transfer.  The rest of the WAC on the Men’s side seems to be having a down year, so this could work out well for the Aggies.