Boxing Report: Emanuel Navarrete vs Oscar Valdez

I’ve already done a boxing post this year.  I don’t need to do another.  Oh, alright.  I watched the fight and took notes; I may as well do the post.  (This doesn’t get me any closer to having a vote with the Baseball Writers so that I can make the wrong decisions for the Hall of Fame.) 

 

Even though I’d just gotten back from the Aggie Volleyball Scrimmage, I still wasn’t “sports out,” for the today.  Somehow, I remembered that there was a fight on tonight.  I’d never heard of the boxers (I pretty much haven’t heard of any boxer, except Canelo), but my co-worker Mike told me he was going to the fight in Arizona this weekend with his girlfriend Laiza.  She has all of the connections and probably got them free tickets.  The only thing was I couldn’t remember who they were rooting for.

 

I turned on TV Azteca out of Mexico and figured the fight was on an hour delay.  The fight was in Glendale (Phoenix) at the Desert Diamond Arena.  It looked like a full house.  This was a Lightweight Championship fight between two Mexican boxers both with over 30 wins and only 1 loss.  (If they’re both Mexican, I don’t know who Laiza’s rooting for.)  Emanuel Navarrete looked bigger and taller.  Oscar Valdez actually looked a bit scrawny by comparison, but I assumed he didn’t get into this fight by accident.

 

Round 1: (Just a reminder, these are the raw notes I took as the fight happened.)  Navarrete dominated early, but Valdez was countering well.  There was an early headlock up by Valdez, but then he went to a knee.  The ref motioned like it was a low blow.  Valdez got in a gut shot and Navarrete had the wind knocked out of him.  Navarrete then forced Valdez into the ropes and unloaded on him.  Navarrete took this round, though Valdez did well too.  This was a heck of a fight already. 

 

Round 2: Navarrete drove Valdez around the ring.  Both were taking wild swings at each other.  They both ducked under the shots.  Valdez went into a defensive shell.  There was lots of the crowd noise.  I think they were for Valdez, but I’m not sure.  Valdez was saved by the bell after taking a blast into a post.  Navarrete’s round.

 

Round 3: They were showing a couple of commercials between rounds featuring Shakira singing to a ham sandwich with a side of chips.  No further comment needed.  Valdez got in a staggering headshot and put Navarrete into the ropes.  A furious exchange of blows ensued.  Valdez wrapped up Navarrete’s head again.  The two began sparring in the middle of the ring.  Valdez was warned on a shot to the back of the head.  He nodded when the bell sounded and seemed satisfied.  I had Valdez taking the round.  The coverage had Navarrete. 

 

Round 4: There was a replay of last round showing Valdez taking a couple of massive shots to the head that I didn’t see.  Okay, Navarrete took the last round.  There was some dancing this round.  Valdez briefly put Navarrete into the ropes, but then Valdez started backing up on defense.  Navarrete unloaded a great counterpunch to Valdez’s jaw.  Round to Navarrete.

 

Round 5: Shots to Navarrete’s abs and head staggered him briefly.  Valdez was staying very low and crouching on defense to dodge shots.  Valdez was pushed into the ropes.  He wrapped up to get out.  Navarrete drove him back into the ropes briefly.  I had Navarrete taking the round.  The coverage gave it to Valdez.

 

Round 6: There was a wrap up right at the bell.  Navarrete staggered badly on a hit.  The fighters were slowing down.  Valdez put Navarrete into the ropes briefly and the crowd cheered.  Valdez wrapped again and got in a kidney punch.  He was warned.  Round to Valdez.

 

Round 7: They wrapped at the bell again.  Valdez was ducking under punches.  The ref stopped the fight briefly as Valdez lost his mouth guard.  Navarrete got in a good exchange.  Valdez pushed Navarrete into the ropes and leaned on him.  Navarrete unloaded a furious exchange.  Valdez was looking rough and tired.  Navarrete.

 

Round 8: There were a couple of blows and then a wrap.  Navarrete was probing and seemed content to let Valdez exhaust himself.  Valdez got in a good exchange.  I had Valdez because of the number of blows, but the coverage had Navarrete.

 

Round 9: Navarrete may have tripped and fell backward into the ropes after a shot.  The crowd began chanting.  Valdez wrapped up.  In the last seconds of the round, both of them landed massive blows.  I had Valdez.  The coverage had Navarrete.

 

Round 10: Navarrete was somehow distracted by something before the round started.  No problem.  He was aggressive in attacking.  The crowd was getting louder.  Valdez got in a big shot to the side of Navarrete’s head.  Valdez put Navarrete into the post and pummeled him.  Meanwhile, Valdez was showing a bad cut under his right eye.  Valdez got in two massive shots.  Both fighters were going after it furiously up to the bell.  Valdez.

 

Round 11: The round began with the crowd roaring.  Valdez drove Navarrete into the ropes.  Valdez nearly fell out of the ring throwing a punch.  Good blows were hitting, but not hard enough.  Navarrete was chasing Valdez around at the bell.  I had Navarrete.  I think the coverage had Valdez.

 

Round 12: Navarrete pounded his gloves at the bell.  He was ready to go.  He was chasing Valdez around again and pushed him down.  Suddenly, Navarrete fell to a knee. I didn’t see the punch and it wasn’t replayed, but it happened.  Valdez pressed and the crowd went crazy.  Navarrete charged.  Both fighters waded into each other until the final bell.  I had Valdez winning the round.  The coverage had Navarrete. 

 

Neither boxer was celebrating immediately after the fight.  Valdez was in his corner with his eye swelled shut.  Navarrete, in his corner, looked like he just needed a shower.  His hair wasn’t even messed up. 

 

The decision was unanimous from the judges, the coverage, and myself.  The champion, Navarrete, retained his belt.  Valdez seemed to be fighting a losing cause just looking at the two fighters before the bout started, but there were times when it felt like the fight could suddenly end either way. 

 

I knew the fight was on an hour delay, but I tried to call Mike afterward anyway.  It was an hour earlier where he was, but there was no answer.  Mike came back to work a couple of days later.  Him and Laiza were rooting for Oscar Valdez.  Though disappointed, they still had a good time.  Mike blamed the loss on Valdez “headhunting” with his punches.  I actually enjoyed the fight even it was the typical 12 rounds and decision bout.  Maybe I was just tired.  Both boxers were definitely warriors.   

NM State Volleyball Crimson and White Scrimmage 8-12-23 Part 2

Another fun picture.  Here's Kaitlin Espiritu.

Continued from Part 1.

Set 3

I suddenly noticed that the silver-haired girl from the Soccer team was sitting on the floor behind the court.  Unfortunately, I noticed this as she was leaving.  Some guys from the Football team moved into the area she vacated.  I wonder if they got to meet her like they wanted to the other night.  Also departing, a little girl left with her mother.  The little girl wobbled all the way down court like she’d just drank a six-pack.  She eventually fell over, but mom was right there for her.

 

Early in the set, Maggie Lightheart dove for a ball on the sidelines nearby.  I kinda hoped she’d land on me, but that might have taken me out for the rest of the match.  (Worth it.)  Kacia Brown made an overpass kill for White to tie the score at 2.  Sydney McIntosh made a block to give Crimson a 5-2 lead.  Later, Maggie made a dig in the backcourt and nobody was covering for the pass.  The ball dropped in the middle of the court.  Glad I didn’t see Coach Jordan on that one.

 

8-6 Ashley Herman made a crosscourt kill for White.  Maggie came back with a kill off her back foot for Crimson.  Anji Vishwanathan dunked one to make it 12-7 Crimson.  Ryleigh Whitekettle and Aleka Darko answered with a block for White.  Coach Jordan spoke up, “That was big time.”  He liked it.  13-10 Rilen Garcia put in a dump shot for a point for Crimson.  The coach spoke up again.  “That happened because you weren’t talking.  You’re being quiet as church mice.”  (I’ll put in, “Heads up play, Rilen.”)

 

The energy and intensity picked up in the match visibly.  Jacqueline Gomez-Gallegos and Anji combined on a block for a 22-15 Crimson lead.  The girls were pumped.  Sydney and Anji finished the set with a pair of kills.  25-20 Crimson. 

 

Set 4

A good deal of the crowd left at this point.  A girl with bright violet and blue hair left.  She was probably why I didn’t notice the girl with silver hair, because she had been next to her.  (Not a hair critique.  It looked good and she was cute.  It was probably really expensive to do that hairstyle.)

 

There was another reshuffle of personnel.  I’m not sure if I’m correctly designating which team was which.  The girls weren’t changing jerseys.  Peyton started the set with an ace off the tape for Crimson.  Starr Williams answered with a crosscourt kill.  Mia buried one for White to tie it at 2.  White ran off three points to put them ahead 5-3.  I noticed the server kept aiming at Ryleigh.  She got revenge by ending a long rally with a kill.  Maggie and Kaylee Peterson both had off court saves for White on the play.  

 

7-5 Crimson, Ashley put in a kill down the line.  11-8 Maggie took another tumble going for a ball again.  She was really selling out.  Coach Whitis talked to Peyton Castillo before she served, “You can do it if you want, if you got the guts.  You nervous?”  She served into the net.  Yep.  The White team started a comeback.  Ryleigh got a kill.  Another kill took out two defenders.  Coach Whitis nearly had a seizure.  White surged to the lead.  Ryleigh put down a very authoritative kill.  Starr tooled a block to end a long rally.  18-13 White.  Timeout.  There was an in/out question on the last point.  That’s what you get for not having refs.

 

The White team was first to 20 on a nice dump shot by Aspen.  Crimson began a comeback.  Aleka and Mari Sharp had kills.  Peyton beautifully set Ryleigh for a kill for Crimson to make it 21-16.  (Wait, was Ryleigh playing on both sides of the net?  There isn’t anyone else on the team that looks like her and I’m pretty sure I have the scoring right.  The Coach might have been switching her around during the timeout.)  22-18 Maggie scored for the White with a kill into a block. 

 

23-20 White, Ryleigh surprised herself with a tip kill for Crimson.  (She either didn’t mean to do it or didn’t think it would work.)  24-21 Crimson fought off match point on a kill by Ashley.  Crimson took the next point as Kaylee and Bella Castro collided at the net diving for a ball.  The next point tied the set at 24.  Timeout.  It was like the girls wanted to keep playing.  The Crimson took the next point as they called Starr’s swing out.  (I don’t think I’d let the opposition make line calls on my shots.)  The match ended with Kacia making a kill and taking the set for Crimson 26-24.  The team Twitter reported that the match was a 2-2 tie.  I have no idea if that’s really right.  It’s fine.

 

Keeping in mind that Coach has probably made most of the decisions on starters and preferred reserves, and that he was just giving everyone play time, I’ll give some thoughts.  First, I’m missing some people from last year.  Taylor Snow was a block party at the net.  I think injuries hampered Katie Birtcil as the season went on, but she was a star.  Molly Johnson really came on late in the season to lead the team.  This years’ team needs players to step up into these roles.  (I’m also missing Cat Kelly, even if she wasn’t playing.)

 

Maggie Lightheart was playing very hard and has a good physical build.  I don’t know if the coach will use her this year, but I think she’ll have a future with the team.  I was heartened to see Ashley Herman getting kills.  Maybe she’ll work into the rotation this year.  Kacia Brown, Anji Vishwanathan, Mari Sharp, Aleka Darko, and Sidney McIntosh all have some good pop and block.  Kacia seems like the best of this group.  Ryleigh Whitekettle and Starr Williams have the physical presence to be stars.  Do they have the experience?  I expect opposing teams to be keying on them.  Can they handle the focus?        

 

For libero, Darian Markham is the senior and an on-court leader and has done a great job, but I only noticed her playing a couple of times.  Was she hurt?  Does she already have the job and the coach just wanted to look at the other girls?  Oddly compared to past years, they’re a little thin at the DS position.  I think Morgan Stewart and Kaylee Peterson will work well as serving subs.  (I know the coach likes Kaylee, though that doesn’t necessarily translate to playing time.)  Overall, serving looked okay in this match, but it has been a bug-a-boo in past seasons.  We hope there’s someone who can take Rylee Fey’s place as an ace machine.    

 

As for setter, I don’t think there will be drama this year.  Logically, Aspen Aldous should be the main.  I think she also gives you a blocker at the net.  I thought Peyton Castillo looked good setting.  Bianca Perez did a good job last year as a freshman and should only get better as long as her hand is right.  Rilen Garcia persevered so heroically last year.  I know the coach is impressed with her and her increase in skills.  She did a good job serving this evening.  I’d hate to have to choose here (because there will be hurt feelings), but at least there are four good options.

 

Coach Jordan was pleased afterward in an interview, so I’m happy.  After running low on hitters and setters over the last two years, I hope the team is at least well-staffed now.  This team needs to replace some lost skills from last year and success in that will only be apparent in competition.  In the meantime, they’ve got talent for sure.  I’m looking forward to seeing how this shakes out.

 

NM State Volleyball Crimson and White Scrimmage 8-12-23 Part 1

What a fun picture.  There's Darian Markham hitching a ride with Ryleigh Whitekettle.

I finally had to sign-on to Twitter to get information about this weekend’s Aggie Volleyball scrimmage.  I didn’t want to do it (for various reasons), but the online schedule was a bit tardy in disclosing info on this game.  From an Aggie podcast, I learned that there were inside renovations going on to the Pan-Am Center.  This explains why this match would be played in the practice gym attached to the arena. 

 

This wasn’t the first time the team has played a match in the gym.  In 2021, they played there in an exhibition against Texas Tech.  You can read about the circumstances in my post from that time.  The short version is that I didn’t get to see the match.  I didn’t know what to expect, except for the words “limited seating,” in the promo.

 

I went really early just to make sure.  I ran into fan Danny out in the parking lot at the rear of the Pan-Am and we entered together.  We saw former players Tatyana Battle (Ops Director) and Molly Johnson (Grad assistant) in the hallway.  I waved to them.  (I really hoped I could talk to Molly and tell her that I wanted her back playing.  One year with her wasn't enough for me.)  The small practice gym inside was not made for spectators.  Two rows of seats were on the far side of the court.  On court, the girls were warming up.  This was definitely a lot closer than the fans usually are when the team is playing.

 

In fact, too close.  I got hit on the leg by a ball after I sat down.  I found myself deflecting balls away from Danny on occasion during the match.  Danny immediately befriended an adorable chatty little girl with rosy cheeks sitting next to us.  She was 7 (as she told everyone) and, I think, the daughter of an official, of which there weren't any present for this game.  (PA Ed Caranathan was there to call the match.)  Coach Jordan came by and individually greeted the fans that had shown up early.  The little girl told him that she wanted to play for him someday.  He had to tell her that he planned on retiring probably before she'd be old enough.

 

I'd impulsively brought a piece of charcoal and some paper to draw on before I'd left.  I thought maybe I could draw some action poses and the girls relaxing on the sidelines.  That was a great idea, if I had more talent.  Also, I didn't count on being cramped in my seat with the crowd.  I wished I brought a normal pencil.  Charcoal wasn't the right tool for this.  I might try it again sometime.

 

The people kept coming.  The seating ran out and people were standing until more chairs were brought in.  People still ended up sitting on the court.  Some members of Aggie Soccer came in, including Xitlatly Hernandez and Loma McNeese (both looking glam).  Several Football players were there.  There were a couple of windows overlooking the gym from the second story.  There was a crowd of people, who might have been athletes, watching from there as well.  

 

As for the team, Ryleigh Whitekettle was as striking as ever out on court.  She also had the hardest hit ball that I heard that evening, though it was during warmups.  Newcomer Starr Williams was also a presence with her height and her amazingly long, thick braided hair going down her back.  Local girl and senior Kaitlyn Espiritu was on the sidelines and not suited out to play.  I've despaired of ever seeing her in a game.  Alexandria Connatser was back with shorter hair.  I think she needed to put a little more weight over the summer.  She seems too thin for her position.       

 

After what happened last year, Coach Jordan brought in two more setters to join Bianca Perez and Rilen Garcia.  Bianca was still wearing a thumbguard (as was Ryleigh).  From a podcast interview, the coach still really loves Rilen's effort, but she is pretty undersized for the position.  Aspen Aldous is a junior transfer and Peyton Castillo is a sophomore from Western NM.  I think Aspen is meant to the primary.  She's 6'2” and can block (and is well built).  Peyton also has some height (and is really pretty with a killer smile).  There's probably going to be some real competition over the setter position, because they're all capable.

 

I'm sorry Ron wasn't here.  He would have loved seeing the girls.  He would have been close to his favorite, Morgan Stewart, from court level.  This isn't a beauty contest, but I really liked Maggie Lightheart.  She's cute as heck and a local girl that’s new to the team.  She got a lot of playing time in the match and played well with a lot of hustle.  The coach was likely mostly testing out the newcomers as much as possible in this match.  I'll mention a lot of the other players during the recap.

 

Set 1

It seemed like most of the presumptive regular starters were on the White team and much of the reserves were on the Crimson team.  Starr made an authoritative straight down dunk at the net to start the match for the White.  Ryleigh followed that up with a kill.  Kacia Brown had a solo block and a shared block with Ryleigh.  Anji Vishwanathan, PA Ed's favorite name to announce, came back for the Crimson with a tip kill to make it 5-3 White.  Another Las Cruces player, Jacqueline Gomez-Gallegos, made a solo block for the Crimson and teamed up transfer junior, Aleka Darko, for a block.  (There was a post-match interview with Aleka.  She seems like a sweetheart.)

 

On our side of the court, we could hear Assistant Coach Whitis talking to the Crimson team.  Sometimes instructions, sometimes encouragement, and sometimes taunting.  There was also a couple next to me that was scouting the players like a couple of coaches and looking at the girls' strengths and weaknesses.  I'm guessing they're boosters.

 

Ashley Herman was my favorite freshman to watch on the sidelines last year.  She was a bundle of energy and always cheerleading.  I hope she'll be playing this year.  She was taking swings for the White today.  After being denied on a couple other points, Ashley fired a fastball to make it 11-8 White.  She went crosscourt for a kill on the next point.  Ash made a nice save a couple points later and Mari Sharp got a kill to make it 14-9 White.

 

Starr made another kill and had an overpass kill to make it 20-11 White.  For the Crimson, Anji made another tip kill.  Sydney McIntosh fired a kill through a block for the Crimson.  There was a little comedy, as Morgan and Maggie fell on each other at the net for a dig.  24-15 was our first long rally.  Sydney finished it with a kill.  White would finish out the set 25-16.

 

Set 2

Molly and surprise guest former player, Lia Mosher, went out on court between sets to toss t-shirts to the crowd.  I didn't quite recognize Lia before she was announced.  She was like Clark Kent wearing nerdy glasses with her hair pulled back.  One of her shirt bundles came apart in flight.  PA Ed told her, “Nice try, Lia.”  (She was his favorite name to announce, “Lia Mooooooosher!”)

 

The teams came back out mixed up, as the coach experimented with different lineups.  Mari with the Crimson started the set with a pair of kills and also had an ace.  It was a different perspective on serves from the floor level.  I also got a sense of the speed of the ball as a ball whizzed over my head during a point early in the set.

 

Crimson ran up the score to 7-1, as Starr slapped another overpass kill.  Ashley and Kacia teamed for a block for the White.  Ash hit a kill and may have had another kill maybe overturned on a roofing call (?).  (The players were making their own calls on the other team.)  12-7 Crimson, Starr tooled the block after a long rally.  13-8 Maggie buried one for the White.  Coach Jordan at the far end of the court immediately piped up with some instructions.  Everyone got quiet.  He apparently didn’t like the defense on that shot.

 

On the next point, Coach Whitis gave his team a long set of instructions.  Unfortunately, Bella Castro, another local player, tripped after serving and White took the point.  Crimson won the next point to lead 16-10.  Morgan, on the White team, made a couple of diving saves on the point.  Coach Whitis called a timeout.  Anji and Alex teamed up for a block to take the next point.  I thought Coach Whitis was about to jump out on to the court to play with the girls on that point.  (Him and Assistant Coach Hertel, who was coaching the other team, must have had a bet on the outcome of this match.)

 

The White team started a comeback.  Maggie got another kill, Ryleigh and Kacia made a block, Maggie served an ace off the tape, and Kacia had a kill to make it 19-15 Crimson.  Bianca and new freshman Mia Daniel made a block for Crimson 23-17.  White kept coming and closed to 24-22.  Morgan had another great off court save.  At 24-23 Coach Whitis took a timeout, but White tied it at 24.  Rilen was on a great serving run for them.  Crimson finally sided out.  The set ended 26-24 Crimson with Mari making a solo block on Ryleigh.

 

Continued in Part 2.

NM State Aggies vs Cochise College Apaches Soccer 8-10-23

It’s our first Aggie sporting event of the season.  We come into it with a somewhat heavy heart after the death of Thalia Chaverria from the Soccer team last month.  (Her cause of death still hasn’t been publicly disclosed.  I’ve checked about every day.)    In a nice gesture, Thalia was voted on to the C-USA preseason all-league team.  She was also still listed on the roster today. 

 

I decided to take the day off from work to see the team’s first game to see if they’d being doing a tribute to her.  Otherwise, I might have skipped this exhibition match.  (I’m really asking for it taking any time off.  The day before, I watched three of my co-workers pass the buck around on who would be covering for me.)  There was no tribute at tonight’s game, but I had a decent time anyway.

 

There have been chances of the rain lately.  I said I wouldn’t take time off if it was raining today.  There was a welcome stiff cool breeze blowing around game time, which everyone appreciated.  There were also some dark clouds in the area.  As the evening wore on, there was rain to the north and a storm going to the south.  (After halftime, I saw lighting there.)  But other than a few blown drops, no rain spoiled the game.  

Some dust from a work area by the field did kick up a couple of times and blow over the field.  They’re putting in a rock logo on the far side of the field, but it’s not done yet.  

What is done is a new turf football practice field next door.  Unfortunately, it makes the soccer field, with a several yellow patches, look even worse.  At least it smelled nice like they’d just mowed it. 

 

I don’t think you can really see it in the picture, but there was a partial rainbow over the mountain.  So much for my crappy photography.

 

I put on the 2022 WAC Soccer Aggie championship t-shirt I’d bought last year to wear to its first match.  At the Soccer Complex, the courtesy table had two poster schedules, but neither were for soccer.  They were both Football.  One featured Quarterback Diego Pavia, whom I met at the Football Rally, and the other was of Offensive Lineman Shiyazh Pete, whom I met at Softball.  I picked them and I’m still debating where to put them up. 

 

The Aggies’ Soccer roster had a few hard subtractions from last year.  Star goalie Makenna Gottschalk and star defender Landy Williams have graduated.  They’re both playing on the same team in Europe now.  Bella Garcia was also not on the roster.  Damn, I’ll miss seeing her lovely self.  (I thought I might have seen her working for the team as an assistant, but I’m not sure it was her.)  A lot of the rest of team did return, including Loma McNeese, who is the preseason offensive player of the year in conference.  A bit troubling is the goalie depth.  There are two new freshman and a returning redshirt freshman, Valerie Guha, who was the starting goalie tonight.  (She was nice when I met her last year.  She comes all the way from Germany.)

 

The crowd was a little sparse as I showed up early.  There was a little tailgate going on in the parking lot with a high school girls soccer team (I think).  A really good crowd filled in the stands right when the game started.  I ran into fan Danny and sat him and we chatted before the match up until halftime when he left.  (It was past his bedtime.)  He brought up that another college soccer player had died this week.  (I’m sure all these athlete deaths have nothing to do with getting injected with something experimental recently.) 

 

The Football team came in and sat around the stands, but mostly in the southern support stand, which they filled.  The Baseball team might have been there.  (I couldn’t positively identify them.)  I noticed a few girls from the Volleyball team at the other end of the stands.  

 

First Half

Danny said that tonight’s opponent, the Cochise College Apaches, were pretty good at the junior college level.  (They’ll be changing their name to the Guardians or the Commanders shortly after Twitter discovers them.)  CCA did not start the game off well.  41’ left in the half, Speedy Sydnee Johnson rushed the net.  An Apache player tried to kick a pass away and put it right into the Apache’s goal.  The own goal made it 1-0 Aggies.  The offending player visibly grimaced right after it happened.

 

40’ Valerie picked up a slow roller at the Aggie net.  That was all the work she did for the match.  From here, most of the action took place in the CCA end of the field.  36’ Loma and an Apache player collided in the box.  They both got up slowly and shook hands afterward.  It was generally a friendly game to this point.  The crowd was kind of quiet for most of the half as the Aggies got off a few shots without success.  18’ Syd passed to Loma in front of the net and she buried it.  The Football team pounded their stands and started singing.  2-0 Aggies.

 

16’ Xitlaly Hernandez collected an out-of-bounds ball from the Football team.  For a moment, I thought they might not let her come back on the field and would keep her.  15’ the Aggies subbed out most of the starters.  The subs looked generally taller than the starters.

 

12’ Bianca Chacon took a shot from the wing.  Apache goalie Faye Jones made a great hand save on the shot.  She was briefly hurt and the trainer looked at her.  Faye was holding her back for the next several minutes.  (She’s from England.  Half of their roster is foreign.  The other half is all from Arizona.)  The Football guys posed for group selfie during the break.  They did give Faye a round of applause for staying in.

 

9’ Meredith Scott got a shot past Faye.  It seemed like she should have been able to stop it, but she wasn’t able to dive for it.  3-0 Aggies.  Afterward, Mya Gonzales made a great fake out move on a defender and the Football team hooted in approval.  8’ Blakley Edgar made a chip shot over the goalie to make it 4-0.  7’ Meredith (I think, I didn’t get a good look and the Football team was howling covered the scoring announcement) fired a missile from outside the box over the goalie.  5-0 Aggies and that was how the half ended.                    

 

Second Half

Karolanne Lafortune went into the Aggie net to start the second half.  The reserves were still in.  In fact, I think anyone able to play off the bench was inserted in.  The stands cleared out a bit with the possibility of approaching weather.  Most of the Football team changed ends to sit behind the opposing goal.  If they were heckling the goalie from there I couldn’t hear them. 

 

There were some Football players sitting behind me that I could hear more clearly with less crowd noise.  They were repeatedly using a word most people would be unlikely to use in mixed company.  (That word that rappers like.  By the way, I’m reminded that the pregame hip hop music sucked.)  We did find common ground on a new sub in the game.  #22 for the Aggies was tall, pretty, and had long silver hair.  Every time she ran by, the guys were talking about her (and I was certainly thinking the same things).  There was no #22 on the program roster.  From the website, #22 is Kennedy Herrera, however the girl pictured had dark hair, so I’m not sure if that was her.

 

42’ Meredith took a hard check in the CCA goal and went down.  The Football team barked at the refs.  40’ Megan Ormson took a long shot that was just off and tipped out.  35’ Apache Sabrina Ramos-Camatta made a nice shot in the middle of the Aggie box over Karolanne to put them on the board with their first shot on goal.  5-1.  I hope the Aggie girls aren’t going to be forced to run laps until they all puke tomorrow because of this defensive breakdown. 

 

33’ Mya G answered right back with a bomb from downtown to make it 6-1.  30’ there was a hurt Apache on the field.  Unfortunately, it took a minute for the refs to notice her down.  She had to be helped off.  29’ the Aggie starters came back in, including Mya Hammack.  Admittedly, she’s my favorite and was now playing on the near side of the field.    

 

21’ Loma soon enough fired one in to make it 7-1.  Faye made another great hand save on a follow up shot right after.  Ariana Leamons then made a great move on the Aggie end of the field with the ball and took it all the way downfield.  The Football players approved of her great broken field running. 

 

18’ Ariana took a shot that was caught.  16’ Syd took a shot with Ariana running interference on the goalie, but it was stopped.  15’ an out-of-bounds ball went under the south stands.  A Football player there searched and retrieved it for the players.  13’ Diana Martinez came in as the goalie to give everyone some play time. 

 

11’ Faye stopped a point blank header.  I didn’t see the Aggie player taking the shot at the far end of the field.  6’ Hannah Draper made a flying header shot off a corner kick.  That was brave and it was good to make it 8-1.  5’ there was a cheap shot on Loma.  3’ there was a hard collision at midfield, but both players were okay.  Tempers are fraying by this point.  2’ easy pass by Syd to Loma in front of an open net, 9-1.  1’ a CCA free kick outside the Aggie box.  The shot went over the net.  This was the first time I heard Coach Baarts during the game as he was shouting to position the girls on defense.  Diana made a last second save to end the game.  Aggies win 9-1.

 

The girls took care of business.  It was pretty dominating.  Shots on goal were 18-1 and corner kicks were 10-1.  They’ve got a return engagement game against Portland State and a tough game against Texas Tech to start the season.  After that, it’s Arizona State at home, probably the biggest name the program has ever attracted here.  I’ll probably try to go to that one, since ASU will likely bring a bunch of fans with them.  I tried to get a pic of the team waving to the crowd, but wasn’t quick enough.  I’ll try it again next time.  

Card Show: Birthday 2023

I considered it a successful birthday this year.  I went a Chihuahuas game (although I did pay for that one.) and got some cards and gifts.

   

Dad took me out for lunch.  I suggested getting trying the sub sandwiches at Dion's Pizza.  I'd been eating leftover pizza from them all week that I'd gotten at work.  Their sandwiches were as good as their excellent pizza.  I'd never had them before and was really impressed and so was dad.  I complimented the kitchen afterward.

Aunt Judy sent me a gift card to 5 Guys, which I live next door to, so that was pretty useful.  I used it next Saturday and got me and dad another lunch.

The Friday before my birthday, nobody said anything at work.  (I wasn't bitter or anything!  Actually, I said I didn't want anything beforehand.)  I came in on Monday and they gave me a sack full of all of my favorites: pistachios, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Skittles, a bag of garlic parmesan chips, and a slice of chocolate cake.  I'm not even sure how they knew what my favorites were.  The card is cute.  The deer in the middle is spring-loaded.

       

Another friend at work gave me a card and a League of Legends Ultimate Coke.  She'd given me a Starlight Coke a couple of years ago, which I liked.  I'll try this Coke the next time I bring a burger home.  I've watched people play League of Legends on Twitch and cannot for the life of me figure out what the game is about.  It doesn't make any obvious sense to me.    

MLB Post Trade Deadline Report 2023

I’m running a little late on this, but I assure you, I was on top of this MLB Trade Deadline.  I listened to a bunch of podcasts.  I watched MLB Network’s live coverage the day of and Stadium’s wrap up show that happened right after the deadline expired.  I would like to consider myself an expert this year, but it really just feels like a confusing jumble of random trades.

   

The story of the 2023 Trade Deadline was the trades not made.  I already mentioned Shohei Ohtani not being moved.  That was a surprise (and likely a terrible mistake by the Angels).  Two other good pitchers everyone assumed were going, Eduardo Rodriguez and Dylan Cease, stayed put.  Orioles, in spite of contending and having an abundance of prospects, did not make a big deal for either of them.  The Dodgers tried to get Rodriguez, but he blocked it.  (Everyone is questioning that decision.)

 

A literal arms race developed in the AL West.  At the Mets’ fire sale, the Rangers picked up Max Scherzer.  The Astros countered by plucking his teammate, Justin Verlander, for a return engagement with Houston.  They also picked up pitcher Kendall Graveman.  I saw graphic that listed the Astros now taking over for the Mets with MLB’s biggest payroll.  That won’t last long.  They don’t have those kind of deep pockets.  Regardless, Framber Valdez celebrated the deadline by throwing a no hitter that night for the team.  They may also be getting some key injured players back soon.

 

The Rangers had already gotten Aroldis Chapman earlier in the month.  They also picked up Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton from the Cardinals, and even Austin Hedges from the Pirates, just for his pitch framing abilities.  Unfortunately, these moves were really precipitated by injuries.  Ace Jacob DeGrom has been gone for most of the season.  Nathan Evoldi is on an extended rest, probably trying to avoid surgery.  Star catcher Jonah Heim is hurt and his return schedule is unknown. 

            

Compared with all this, the Angels move of keeping Ohtani, snapping up Lucas Giolito (from a more deserving contending team) and acquiring alumni CJ Cron and Randal Grichuk looks laughable.  Even getting Mike Trout back in the near future will only bring up questions as to whether they can trade him or not.  The Mariners gave up and were sellers this season.  They didn’t do anything in the offseason to build on their playoff team.  The A’s are so bad (-268 run differential), they only made one notable trade. 

  

In the AL East, the O’s did get Jack Flaherty from the Cards and reliever Shintaro Fujinami from the A’s.  These did not seem to be especially bolstering moves.  At least if there are any injuries, they’ve got plenty of good prospects they can bring up.  The    Rays picked up Aaron Civale, a good starter.  Trading off a bunch of their good prospects is not their team philosophy. 

 

The Blue Jays added closer Jordan Hicks.  With an injury to Bo Bichette the day before, they quickly added Paul DeJong from the Cardinals.  The Red Sox and Yankees basically did nothing.  For the Yankees, it’s almost the equivalent of a tear down, since the NYC media would roast them to death for actually doing that.

 

The AL Central is an embarrassment.  White Sox still have Dylan Cease, so this deadline was a failure for them.  Likewise for the Tigers hanging on to Eduardo Rodriguez.  The Twins are leading the division, or should I say, first among the losers.  They did nothing.  Cleveland sold off, though even minimal effort trading might have given them a chance to catch the Twins.     

 

As for the NL, you have the Braves standing pat.  Why mess with perfection?  Everyone else seems to be kidding themselves, except for the Mets.  They had a terrible strategy of trying to buy a championship this year, but least salvaged a huge haul of good prospects from their trades.  They also dumped salary.  Someone suggested they might take that money to go after Shohei in the offseason, though the team told Scherzer before they traded him that they were rebuilding for 2025.   

 

In the NL West, the Dodgers got Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Amed Rosario, and a returning Kike Hernandez, but have to be gritting their teeth at losing Eduardo Rodriguez.  He was their Win Button.  The Giants are in second place, but you’d never know it from their Trade Deadline activity.  The Diamondbacks have faded, but picked up Paul Sewald, a good closer, and Tommy Pham.  Who am I forgetting?  Oh yeah, the Rockies.  At least they had some players worth trading. 

 

Then there’s the Padres.  Add to the list of non-trade surprises Juan Soto, Josh Hader, and Blake Snell, who will be free agents at the end of the season.  The Friars are not competing for the division, but still have a chance to get a wild card.  They did bolster their lineup a bit via trades for Rich Hill and Ji Man Choi.  If they can play up to the level of what the back of their bubble gum cards say they can, they could make it in and nobody would want to face them in the playoffs.  If this doesn’t happen, there’s going to be some hard questions for GM AJ Preller.    

 

In the East, the Marlins were the only team making a move for this season, albeit only for a wild card, by getting closer David Robertson and hitters Josh Bell and Jake Burger.  In the Central, the Reds are still leading, but were idle in trading.  The Brewers, right behind them, picked up hitters Mark Canha and Carlos Santana.  The Pirates sold, but did keep David Bednar.  They think they’ve got future to build on.  As for the Cardinals, enjoy your new prospects from all those trades. 

 

Let’s add two more to the list of players that were expected to be traded, Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger from the Cubs.  Northside management looked at their division and that they are the only team with a positive run differential and said, “We’re still in this.”  With that, they added Jeimer Candelario, maybe the best hitter available.  The Cubs responded by scoring 20 runs that night.

 

I don’t know if any of these moves are World Series winning, except for maybe the Verlander one.  I could see him really making a difference on what was already a great team.  The Ranger moves were basically just to keep themselves competitive after injuries.  We won’t know for a couple of years if the Mets and Cardinals actually made the best moves of this Trade Deadline.  In the meantime, it feels like everyone who was good before is still good and everyone else is still bad.  

El Paso Chihuahuas vs Round Rock Express 7-30-23

[I’m running late on this report, which isn’t a good sign for the upcoming Aggie Sports season.  My excuse is that I’ve watching a rebroadcast of Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary series, so it was baseball-related.]

 

What a swell birthday gift!  Actually, it was a coincidence.  The trip came together pretty quickly when I ran into a co-worker, Chuck, the previous week and he expressed a desire to go.  He’d talked to his brother-in-law, Manuel, shortly after that, who’d never gone to a Chihuahuas game.  Chuck asked me and another co-worker, Jacob, right before the end of the week and we all agreed to go on Sunday.  I had been following the team winning five in a row this week and was eager to see the finale.  Chuck did ask about Ron, as we’d all gone together last year.  Ron is on the road doing his truck driving job now.

 

The road was not our friend.  We’d left for the game a little later than I would have recommended, but there weren’t any giveaways tonight.  We did not count on the interstate being shutdown for construction before entering El Paso.  Thankfully, Chuck found a way to the stadium, but we were running late.  While we were waiting in line to enter, we could hear Tim Hagerty’s radio call over the speakers outside.  (There are places in the stadium where you can hear the call, but not everywhere.) 

The game was going on while we walked through the concourse.  Damn.  I’d suddenly become one of those late-arriving fans that I look down upon.  I picked up a scorecard and lineup at the courtesy booth.  We decided to find our seats first, instead of getting food (which I would have recommended).  We evicted the ballpark MC, Andy Imfeld, as he was sitting there waiting to do the next between innings bit.   The seats were four rows up from the Chihuahuas’ dugout with a great view of the field.  Jacob said to me, “How about these seats?”  I’m thinking, If only we’d gotten here on time and been settled before the game started. 

 

We were in time for the second inning.  I made an attempt at starting the scorecard and filled it out in the wrong column.  I couldn’t get the radio call to come in well and had to give up on it.  I was a mess. 

 

The Round Rock Express were up a run from scoring in the first.  In the top of the second, Evan Mendoza made a great play on a hot shot to third to start a double play.  There had been confusion yesterday on a 5-ball walk.  Today, there was nearly the same on a 3-ball walk.  There was an inning-ending popup that was waived off on a balk, but another popup ended the inning anyway.  In the bottom, Tirso Ornelas singled, but was thrown out trying to hustle to second.  He got a round of applause coming back to the dugout.

 

At this point, the guys wanted to go get food and I gave up on the scorecard.  I was hungry.  I ended up getting a hamburger and fries.  I kind of looked around for something else, but the hamburger and fries there are really good.  I ran into Andy Imfield again by the concessions, literally.  I have no peripheral vision with my new sunglasses.  I was absorbed in eating for the next inning.  Since I was just a regular fan at this point, why not?  I got up again for dessert, but settled on a small bag of kettle corn.  Still, I lament my unfilled out scorecard.  It’s a crime against baseball. 

 

I should mention the fashion at the ballpark this evening.  There were two guys in Padres Hawaiian shirts in the line when we came in.  I think those were giveaways in San Diego this season.  There was a guy on our row in a dark Navy blue 90’s Padres jersey with Tatis Jr. on back.  Later on camera, there was a couple wearing matching yellow throwback Diablos jerseys.  I never made it into the team shop today.

 

There was a good crowd at over 6,600.  I saw a really hot blonde girl a couple of times on the concourse.  She was part of some large group of girls, who were all wearing the same t-shirt.  It was easy to notice there was a full house in the Wooftop suite on top of the Big Dog House.  That looked like a fun place to see a game.  Chuck said the bank where we work wasn’t planning on an outing at the ballpark this year.  They blamed bad attendance, but since they may not be doing an Aggie Football tailgate either, I suspect the decision may be more financially driven. 

 

Having given up on the scorecard, I resigned myself to just scribbling a few notes.  The game itself cooperated with me, as not much happened while I was finally getting settled in.  In the top of the sixth, there was a grounder that went through the infield as short and third got crossed up.  Another Round Rock run scored, but the batter was thrown out trying to take second, 2-0 RR.

 

In the bottom of the sixth, Eguy Rosario smacked a solo home run to left to make it, 2-1.  He was sprayed with a water bottle when he got back to the dugout.  The next inning, the umpire got hit with a foul ball.  A very pretty Chihuahuas trainer came out to tend to him.  By this point in the game, the crowd was getting a little unruly.  The injured umpire got heckled.  The heckling continued on any poor or disappointing play for the rest of the game, and it was male and female hecklers.    

 

A single drove in another run to make it, 3-1 RR.  Chico, our beloved mascot, came over to our section.  He was offered some popcorn by a lady.  He took it and tossed it at his head.  He then went over and massaged a cameraman’s neck, who was sitting below us.  Then Chico went over a made friends with a scared little boy at the father’s request.  During the Stretch, he went out on field and did a Mexican hat dance with a couple of a little girls in costume.  Our mascot is the hardest working dog in the stadium.

 

In the bottom of the seventh, the Chihuahuas loaded the bases on two singles and a walk.  Round Rock brought out a new pitcher.  Jose Azocar greeted him with a single that scored two runs, 3-3.  Eguy came up.  He shattered his bat and then flied out.  The RR pitcher tried to pickoff the runner on second, but was called for a balk that advanced both runners.  Two balks called in a game?  Are you kidding me?  This one was pretty blatant.  Ben Gamel, who’s been a tear, continued that hot streak with a three-run bomb to center.  6-3 Chihuahuas!  He got the water spray treatment coming back to the dugout. 

 

In the bottom of the eighth, Alex Speas came in to pitch for Round Rock.  I’d heard him pitch last week with the Rangers.  He’d left the baseball for mental issues last year, but he did well when he was called up.  He got a double play in his inning here.  The crowd wanted a challenge, of which there aren’t any in Triple-A.  Taylor Kohlwey had the final at bat in the inning.  The PA welcomed him back to the Chihuahuas.  He’d been optioned back down from the Padres.

 

A section by the visiting dugout, which is where the rowdiest of El Paso Locomotive (soccer) fans sit, made lots of noise a couple of times during the game, which had nothing to do with what was going on on field.  I think they were getting souvenirs thrown at them.  Chico was back out on field between innings.  He raced a little kid across the infield and lost badly.  He’s not the Freeze.

      

Even with a three-run lead, I admit I was worried going into the top of the ninth.  Chihuahuas’ pitching has not been good this season.  Jake Sanchez came in to pitch and quickly gave up a pair of monster home runs to make it 6-5.  He then gave up a double to Kevin Plawecki, who had been a Chihuahua earlier in the week before getting traded.  He even had a game winning hit earlier in the series.  Sanchez was taken out of the game for Jared Koenig.  While Sanchez had been heckled out on the mound, he was given a round of applause when he came back to the dugout. 

 

Koenig induced a grounder for the first out.  On another grounder to short, Mendoza threw to third and got Plawecki.  There two outs.  Jonathan Ornelas came up and battled.  He fouled off several pitches before finally grounding out.  Chihuahuas win 6-5!  The PA announced to the crowd that this was El Paso’s first ever six-game sweep.

 

The time of the game was about two hours and 30 minutes.  That was about as long as it felt like trying to get home.  There was more Interstate construction blocking easy travel.  In spite of this and basically missing half the game, I had a great time.  I might not be back for baseball this season, but Chuck did mention wanting to see a Locomotive game this year, and Jacob and I were on board for it.  I’ve been wanting to get a Loco’s t-shirt.