Sports Writer to Be

Tonight's game between Alvirne and Central will start an hour earlier than expected. As a result, I might not be able to give my full report tonight on Friday Night Lights. But you can read it here. Following the preview is a list of questions I plan to ask Central coach Doc Wheeler if I can grab him before the game, and if he is willing to talk.

Basketball night in the Queen City once again, this time its Alvirne of Hudson at six and four, visiting Manchester Central, who trails only Trinity at nine and one, their only loss coming to Trinity back on January eleventh. Since then they have won seven straight, absolutely destroying Timberlane three nights ago in Plaistow, sixty-five to twenty-two. In that game, Central's diminutive point guard, Lionel Cole, was not listed in the box score. I will have more on that in a moment.

Let's talk about Alvirne. To sum up this team's season so far, in two words: not bad. Looking at the Class L standings, your top eight teams are separated by just two-and-a-half games, then there's Alvirne at six and four, in a solid position to make the playoffs, Coach Jim Fisher says their goal now is to position themselves to be able to host a first-round game.

Three nights ago the Broncos beat Pembroke at home in overtime, after trailing the entire the first half to a team they probably should have beaten handily. I had a chance to see Alvirne in their second game of the year, just a few days before Christmas at Portsmouth. They won that game easily, 78-64, and what I noticed about the Broncos in that game was that they have a few guys on this team who can get open and score, especially guard Jeff Bradshaw, as well as Jeff Barnard and Jim Gwinther: they play keep away ball well, and they are able to take over a game in the fourth quarter. They did it Tuesday against Pembroke, and were also able to do it last month against Winnacunnet on the road, winning by nine after trailing by seven as late as the third quarter.

Central was without guard Lionel Cole in Tuesday's blowout win at Timberlane. He has reportedly been kicked off this Central team.

Despite his size, Cole was a huge force in games for Central, able to use his size to his advantage to weave in and out of defenders and take the ball to the hoop. Also, as the team's point guard, he had a unique ability to quarterback his team, and keep the ball away from defenders as the rest of the team got set up for the play. That will be missed. But Central is still a force to be reckoned with, they should be able to beat Alvirne tonight, but the rest of the schedule is going to be tough, facing Salem, B-G, Dover and Nashua plus three more down the stretch. They should be in decent shape without Cole, as long as they get big numbers from their two key players, Big Sam Carey and Tyler Roche, who combined for fifty-four against Londonderry last week, without Lionel Cole to feed them the ball.

Reporting live from Manchester, this is John Doyle for Friday Night Lights, High school basketball in action.

What exactly is the status of Lionel Cole?

How will the team compensate for its loss?

Last week after the win against Londonderry you said you "Were aware of certain weaknesses and have been working to get better." What are some of your team's weaknesses at this point?

You had an easy win last Tuesday night against Timberlane, but the rest of the schedule is going to be tougher down the stretch. Can you win without Lionel?

Alvirne-Central preview coming later today, but for now . . .

What's the deal with T? Why would he broadcast a basketball game featuring elementary school kids when two of the biggest games of the week, if not the season, were both sold out in Albuquerque last night? The only thing I can think of is that perhaps there was some sort of sponsorship agreement (for which T was desperate) and some dude paid Henry T to put his son's game on the radio. Get this, T, NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE was listening to that game. And I know the term "NO ONE" gets thrown around a lot, when we actually mean "a relatively small number" or "an insignificant percentage of the population", but in this case I can't even imagine why one person, in a metro area of 600,000, would listen to that particular event on the radio. Anyone who cared about that event would have been there to watch it.

And I really hope none of this is lost on T. Seriously, I hope he's not sitting in his run-down studio this morning, wondering why no one sponsors his pathetic radio station. And here we have the poor guy probably thinking that he did some sort of noble service for the community, by carrying a nine-year-old basketball game last night. The truth is, T, there are a lot of people out there, probably more than you think, who not only wanted to listen to one of the two big basketball games last night, but were actually COUNTING ON YOU to do it. I feel like asking him, do you want to cover high school sports or not? I know in your perfect world, T, every little sports event with anyone under the age of 18 would be not only be on your station, but everyone in the city would be sitting on the edge of their seats listening to it. But it ain't that way. There were people turned away from Rio Grande and Sandia gyms last night, hoping to listen to one of the two games, only to be CHEESED!

I think I actually might be more disgusted about this than you are. I'm sorry, but frankly I am sorely disappointed in Henry T. This marks a new level of ineptitude for him. Is he really that myopic? Does he suffer from that much tunnel-vision? Isn't there one person close to him to give him some advice? Does he listen to anybody? Or does he wake up one morning and just say, I am going to ignore the two biggest games of the week in the league I have basically dedicated my life to covering, only to give my few loyal listeners a game that NO ONE, and once again I say ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, has even the smallest SHRED of interest in.

The sad thing is, I think their is, or should be, a place on the radio dial for high school sports, especially in the biggest city in the heart of a state that is crazy about it. But Henry T just doesn't seem to give a damn. And it's sad.

Valdez checks out the HS basketball scene in Albuquerque last night . . . two big games on tap . . . and gets CHEESED by Henry T! Come on, T! What the hell is the matter with you? Plus, predictions. Las Cruces shut out of state tournament? Read on . . .

I did not get into a game. Sandia/LC sold out at 6:00 PM or so and when I turned onto Arenal, trying to get to Rio, the line of cars backed up to Coors so I bagged the idea and left. As I was driving home, my thoughts turned to Henry T. Good ole Henry T, he won't let me down, he will be at one of these games. When I got home, I switched on to 1150. The signal was strong and Henry T was indeed broadcasting basketball.......AYBL girls 9 and 10 year old basketball. The score was 11 to 8 in the 3rd quarter. I am thinking maybe its just a rebroadcast while we are waiting for the real game to start, as he has gotten in the habit of playing rebroadcasts of games (including the 2002 Hobbs Rio game the other day). But it was live and was followed up with a AYBL 11 and 12 year old game. No high school hoops. I am thinking Henry T. was is wrong with you!!! Surely you could have looked at your schedule and seeing that the two biggest games in the State and season are taking place tonight. What a let down. You got to respect the guy for trying to put all the kids on the radio but this was a little bit ridiculoous. Priorities Henry T, priorities.

As far as the games go, Rio asserted themselves and look to be geling. 58-50 winners over Cibola. LC stung Sandia yet again (the two football teams and other fans brawled after the game in the parking lot, allegedly). And Santa Fe continued their dominance of District 2 foes by thrashing Highland. Alot of games were postponed because of this massive snow storm we got state wide. Rio is looking like the team people predicted would win state. They still have to play at Rio Rancho and Valley and those will not be easy wins by any means. As I see it Rio Grande and La Cueva are in the drivers seat and should host district championships in two weeks. Sandia still has to go to Santa Fe so you figure that they may not make it. Here are some prelim predictions as to how it may all shake down:

D1 1. Rio Grande 2. Cibola
D2 1. La Cueva 2. Santa Fe
D3 1. Alamogordo 2. Gadsden
D4 1. Hobbs 2. Eldorado

The regionals would be:
Cibola at La Cueva
Santa Fe at Rio Grande
Gasden at Hobbs
Eldorado at Alamo

Working the Alvirne-Central game tomorrow night in Manchester. Coming tomorrow: my pregame report. Anyone out there know what happened to Central's Lionel Cole? I'll have to get to the game early and ask coach Wheeler.

Until then . . . did anyone happen to see the Karate Kid on Espn Classic the other night? My friend Walt and I did . . .

ESPN Classic, as you may or may not know, is a channel where they show old sports footage, like old Super Bowls and NCAA Final Fours and such, and every Sunday night they show a classic sports movie. I had to write to you tonight, because tonight they're showing one of our favorites, The Karate Kid. Not ONLY are they showing the movie, but at every commercial break they feature an interview with one of the movie's stars. I didn't see much, but there was one with Ralph Macchio, "Danielsan," who can't be younger than like 45, and it was right before the big championship fight scene, and Macchio was talking about the "Crane Kick." He was talking about how the script stated that the Crane was necessary because Danielsan's knee was supposed to be hurt, so the Crane was a way for Danielsan to keep the weight off the bad knee, put all the weight on the good leg, kick his opponent AND LAND on the same leg. But, he said, they soon discovered that it's not humanly possible to do such a thing. So the director wanted to put Macchio in a harness that would later be edited out just so they could have the effect of Danielsan doing it all with one leg. But since the actor who played "Johnny" made such a dramatic fall after getting kicked in the mouth in the final scene, special effects became unnecessary. OI find it interesting that no one mentioned why Johnny, after basically dominating the entire match, just stood there while a gimp Danielsan kicked him in the head and took the match and the coveted plastic trophy.

Originally the Karate Kid's name was supposed to be Daniel Webber, but when Macchio got the part, it became Daniel LaRusso. But let's face it, he's always Danielsan. That's another thing I learned tonight.

Anyway, I looked it up online and the Karate Kid will be back on ESPN Classic on NOVEMBER 28th. That's a long way away, but you gotta watch, dude, you gotta!

Dude, I also saw the movie "Miracle" about the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team. It was pretty good, as far as sports movies go. Kind of gets you pumped up for the good old USA. It's interesting how they depicted the Russian team. They were depicted as just excellent hockey players from an oppresive military regime, nothing more, nothing less. Movies (and the attitudes of Americans) have come a long way since such movies as ROCKY IV, where the Soviets were nothing but brutes who were superior, but only because of illegal drugs and super technology. But the drugs would eventually wear off, and true American grit would prevail. And the crowd, who went to a boxing match on CHRISTMAS DAY (oooohhhhh, what godless neanderthals would disregard such a holy holiday to watch boxing?) eventually would root for the American, proving that it's not the Soviet PEOPLE who were evil, but the oppresive government, and eventually, when shown how good old American freedom wins out over phony Soviet technology. And then when the victorious American stood over his vanquished, drugged-of-his-gourd commie machine foe, even good ol' Gorby would eventually be won over and stand up and clap.

Yeah, I'd say "Miracle" was a bit more humanistic in its approach to depicting the Russkies.

From Walt:

Dude, that is AWESOME! Thanks for the e-mail. If I had ESPN Classic I'd definitely tune in next November to check it out. What a great movie. And another priceless piece of trivia that Daniel's original last name was Webber. And, I have to disagree with Maccio. I think it IS possible to do the crane kick and land with the same foot. Jackie Chan can do it!

I'm going to have to see if I can find any pics of Ralphie to see how old he is. Poor guy, it's hard to picture him as anything other than Danielsan. I had to tell Ellen that they were showing it on ESPN Classic. You and I have finally had our belief undeniably vindicated by saying that the KK was a classic movie! Ah, sweeeeeeet!

I want to see Miracle. It's an amazing story and the previews look good. I don't know now though. If they don't portray the Russians as the Evil Communist Bastard SOBs they were/are, I don't think I can watch it. I mean my liberal tendencies only go so far!!! Rocky part IV was pretty funny in their depiction of the "poor" communists. The fight scenes were awesome, but the last time I watched it I cracked up everytime they showed Stallone in the snowy Russian backdrop, wearing skin tight black jeans and a Sheepskin lined Bomber Jacket cinched at the waist and flaring out in the pectoral region. What was he thinking? Did he think that people would actually believe that his huge jacket only showed how HUGE his upper body was? He didn't look to be dressed very appropriately for Siberia or whereever he was. Tell you what though, that last fight scene (in the ring, not in the bleachers) made up for everything. Especially as Rocky beat Ivan all the while having flashbacks of Ivan's fight (and eventual murder) with Apollo Creed! ARGH!!! DAMN RUSSIANS!!!

Coming later today, we talk about The Karate Kid. Valdez has more to say about the HS basketball scene in New Mexico. My comments and the most recent poll standings follow:

Tonight's games:

Cibola at Rio Grande. Dude, I will try my best to get to the South Valley before they stop letting people in. This one is huge and could solidify the winner's hold on District 1. The other game is La Cueva at Sandia. Sandia wants these guys bad but La Cueva seems to stop them. This one could get pretty heated too. La Cueva has always taunted Sandia mercilessly after the State title loss and the loss a few weeks ago. Dude, what is up with your friend's Chris' Santa Fe Prep teams? His varsity got demolished by McCurdy and their JV team got beat 82-17. He needs to have a talk with his staff.
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Tonight, it Heats Up (from today's Albuquerque Journal)

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Dude, I don't know which game you should go to. The Cibola-Rio game will be epic, but LC at Sandia has some huge implications as well. Go to the game you think you would have the best chance of getting into. Will the T be broadcasting any of them? Factor that into your decision as well.

Tomorrow night I will be covering the Alvirne of Hudson-Manchester Central game in Manchester. The rumor is that Lionel Cole, their diminutive, wily point-guard, and one of my favorite players, has been booted from the team. I will have to do some investigating on that one, in order to give the best and most accurate information to my listeners.

Dude, as you can tell, I update my blog frequently. I am glad it is catching fire. Show it to anyone who might be interested. And if there is any way you can think of to take it to the next level, then let me know. I was thinking of launching the world's only website that focused solely on New Hampshire and New Mexico high school sports. Perhaps you'd be interested.

As for my friend Chris, this would probably be a good time to point out that he and I were never extremely close. I've tried to contact him a few times here and there but all I get is short replies. He's a busy dude, to be sure. Busy LOSING!!!!!! Ah, that was an unfair knock.

Coming up later today on the blog, my friend Walt comments on The Karate Kid. But first: straight from Valdez, here are the latest New Mexico High School Basketball Polls (with a little editorializing, I see. That sort of thing is welcome on our blog) Gotta like Questa in 2A, and I have to admit I'm a little disappointed to not see Logan anywhere in 1A

5A
1. Cibola
2. Eldorado (now that is a stretch)
3. Rio Grande
4. Sandia
5. Hobbs
Other votes: Valley, La Cueva, Alamogordo, Clovis

Girls 5A
1. Mayfield (my preseason pick to win it all)
2. Sandia
3. Rio Rancho
4. Hobbs
5. Clovis

4A
1. Capital
2. Kirtland Central
3. Roswell
4. Deming
5. Moriarty
Other Votes: Taos, Albuquerque, Academy, Pius

3A
1. Lovington
2. Bernalillo/West Las Vegas (tie)
4. St. Mikes
5. NNMI

2A
1. Hope
2. Sandia Prep
3. Questa
4. Dexter
5. McCurdy

1A
1. Temple Baptist
2. Springer
3. Cliff
4. Des Moines
5. Tatum

Valdez reacts to the UMass article and has a few things to say about the blog:

It must be an APS thing because there are games all over the State. The biggest 5A game is Eldorado playing at Clovis. But no APS games at all in the City Friday or Saturday. I have not idea why. It is not spring break or anything. I will have to check on some of the smaller schools like Hope or Temple Baptist. TB is the #1 team in A, only two years after being established as a program. They made it to the State Championship last year with a bunch of sophmores and freshmen. There was a good article in the paper the other day about them and how people in small towns across NM know about them but no one really knows about them in Albuquerque. So my options are pretty limited for hoops this weekend. Like I say, I hope to get into the Rio Grande - Cibola game. It will be tough though. Dude, what you say about Santa Fe, while on paper may be true, but this Demon team reminds me of the powerhouses of the mid 80s. I like their chances. As far as a reliable website, ironically, the El Paso Times posts NM standings regularly on thier website as do some of the other NM newspapers like the LC sun news and Clovis news journal. The Journal will occassionally print them on thursday. Now I am toying with starting a blog of my own to print the rankings and standings but I am not sure. Check out the EP Times on Wednesday or Thursday. Dude, your blog is on fire man. It is gaining in reputation for its hard hitting sports takes and its coverage of NM and NE sports. Good job.

You'll be happy to note that Lobo baseball starts on Friday night, a night when they are predicting snow and 25 degree temps. The article on UMASS was good. My take on it all though is that both UMASS and UNM are not like national powers and were not even that way when they were good (although Mass was more successful than UNM). In other words, all these Lobo fans who are calling for McKay's head are unrealistic in their expectations. Sure we made the NCAA a few times and beat ranked opponents but it was typically one game and out. UNM was not this national power that was feared by anyone. We have always been a step above average at best. What do UNM fans expect? A program that goes to the NIT year after year? A program that gets a 12 seed in the NCAA tournament and then gets beat? In my honest opinion, State fans have something to complain about since NMSU was a constant in the NCAA, even making the sweet 16 twice, while UNM was toiling in the NIT. State achieved a #8 ranking while UNM was hovering around 40. McKay is doing his best. It will take time to restore our program just to the NIT quality program we were.

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Starting your own blog is not a bad idea! I have had a lot of fun with mine. But if you don't feel up to it, I will be happy to post them for you if you send them to me! That way, we can possibly get more people to read my blog. My blog is your blog. Glad to hear it's "catching fire" but I wish it was a little more user friendly. Since the nature of it is supposed to be like a journal, everything just gets thrown onto the site and readers have to scroll down to read everything.


Let me just say this about the Demons. If you think they have what it takes, then they will be given their opportunity to prove it on the court. I just take everything you say/predict about SFHS with a grain of salt given your history of blatant editorializing, speculation and lack of objectivity when it comes to the Demons.

Yeah, UMass has their history with Dr. J and a short-lived appearance in the Final Four, which was later revoked by the NCAA because Marcus Camby was taking dough from agents. Lobo fans need to be realistic. During the Bliss years, they weren't even close to making a serious run at the Final Four, BUT they were competitive nationally. In Bliss's last four years (the Kenny Thomas years, they made the NCAA tourney all four times and DEFINITELY should have made the Sweet 16 two of those years. And if they could make the Sweet 16, why not the Final Four every century or so? And they were always competitive in the WAC. So it's not that unrealistic to think New Mexico COULD get back to that level. But what Holley said about living in the internet age made a lot of sense. Who knows where Kenny Thomas and Charles Smith would have wound up if they had been better known?

Thinking about rebuilding your men's college basketball program? Hello, Lobos? Here is an interesting column by Michael Holley of the Boston Globe, talking about the UMass basketball program as they seek to end their hard times in Amherst.

In other news, the High School basketball season rages on. In New Mexico, looks like Valley is fading fast in the District 1AAAAA race. Here's Valdez with more:

I looked over all that stuff you sent. It was all pretty cool. Is that the actual UNH program or just a pamphlet? If it is the official program, no offense but it is a bit on the skimpy side. As far as the Memorial prorgram goes, pretty good. I am glad to see PETA as an official sponsor of their basketball program. Thanks for the stuff.

Last night Cibola destroyed Valley 72-48. I did not even attempt to get in. The fire marshall shut the doors at 6:30 so I would have just gotten there anyway. It looks like the beginning of the end for Valley. They lost two straight pretty badly and lost one of their stars for the year. So it all comes down to Rio and Cibola, who play each other on Thursday night. I will try to get there for that showdown. Eldorado also beat Manzano, the game Henry T. called. Don't know why he was not at the Valley Cibola game, which turned out not to be that good. As far as the Demons, you are right, they are on fire. They beat down Del Norte last night and look good. I don't really care what the research says, SFHS is a definite force this year. The other big game on thursday night is La Cueva at Sandia. For some odd reason, there are no games this weekend, which kind of sucks. It would be awesome if they held Cibola-Rio on Friday night and followed it with Sandia v. La Cueva on saturday.

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There must be some reason that there are no games on the weekend. I know that APS doesn't give a bleep about scheduling for convenience or logic. When I was working for 610 I interviewed the dude who is the athletic director for APS and asked him why APS didn't move their Friday football games to Saturday the week the Lobos played at home on Friday night. He basically told me that APS doesn't give a rat's behind as to when the Lobos play, the games are scheduled when the games are scheduled. On the one hand, you have to respect that but on the other hand, you have a weekend like this one and it makes absolutely no sense that there are no games. Is it an APS issue or an NMAA one? Are there any games at all outside of Albuquerque? Is APS having their spring break or something this week? Makes no sense to me.

The research is the facts, dude. Following the La Cueva game, the Demons were still mired in first place, so it would be specious for one to say that Cibola and Rio Grande should be bracing themselves for an inevitable showdown in the state playoffs with Santa Fe! I think they will be a team to watch when district tournaments come around, but I would put my money on Sandia and La Cueva, if I had to pick two out of the three. This comes after seeing absolutely zero HS basketbizlle in New Mexico this year, but nevertheless . . . When I say "research," I had to go to the SF New Mexican's article about the win over the Bears to find out that SF is still in fourth. There seems to be no reliable website I can go to to get up-to-date district standings for New Mexico. Is there one you can direct me to?

I am glad you liked the stuff. The program for the UNH game was the free one that every fan gets. It's not a full-color magazine like the Lobo programs, but it serves its purposes and is actually quite user-friendly. What more could a basketball fan need? Oh, except a program that has a shred of dignity and respect for the game of basketball, of which UNH is completely devoid.

Still waiting for respnses on this weeks power rankings . . . and Valdez responds to my Santa Fe blast, although he doesn't mention the Demons.

Today's blog topic is the home stretch in high school basketball, particularly in New Mexico's District 1AAAAA. it sounds like District I is where it's at in New Mexico, with Cibola, Rio Grande and Valley, all of Albuquerque, taking up three of the top five spots in the latest AP poll and all tied for first in the district. Only two can go to the state tournament. Can't wait to see the outcome of that one.

I wish it were this way in NH. The only games that are hard to get into are the state semifinals held at the Lundholm gym at UNH. It's a great atmosphere, and many fire codes are violated with people standing in the aisles and doorways. The final is always at the Whittemore across the street, which is much larger, but, as I have said before, some of the intensity is lost, playing in a hockey rink. Oh well. The Trinity-Central game was a tough ticket, even though they moved it to SNHU, a D-II college in Manchester. But regular season games rarely sell out. Maybe it's because some of the tension is lost without districts. You have a great situation in District I out in New Mexico--three of the best teams in the state vying for two playoff spots. It's not like that in NH--all the top teams make it. The only tension is at the bottom of the standings, the battle for 16th place, and most of the time those teams are just playing to see who gets smoked in the first round. Of course, the drawback to the NM system is that a less deserving team will make it in, probably the runner-up in the Cruces-Gordo district. But in the tournament, who's to say West Mesa, Rio Rancho or Gallup won't pull off a major upset? Refresh my memory: the regular season district champ gets an automatic berth in the round of 8 regardless of how they do in the district tournament, and how is the second playoff spot determined in each district? Is it the tournament champ? And what if the tournament champ is the first place team, who gets the second bid? Let me know.

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From Valdez,

The Regular season champ in NM gets an automatic bye into the District Championship game and berth in the round of 8. The winner of the District Tournament Championship gets a home game in the Regionals while the loser hits the road. If Cibola wins out and wins District, they would most likely host Santa Fe or Sandia in the regional first round. If Rio gets second they would play either Santa Fe or Sandia on the road, so its safe to assume Rio might be heading to SF. The biggest knock against the District Tournament is that a bad team can catch fire at the end and make it into the regionals/state. That is what Espanola did last year. There have been many tournaments where the cellar dweller pulls off upsets and makes it in. You don't see it too much at the 5A level but it happens alot in the lower levels. I do believe that Worst Mesa did it in 1994 when they made it all the way to the State Championship game against La Cueva.

Speaking of the Stangs, I was thinking about who was the worst athletic program in NM. West Mesa or Del Norte. There is no doubt in my mind that teams from both these schools would get destroyed by the better 2A and 1A programs out there in all sports.

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Thought you'd slip that in there, didn't you? Santa Fe?!?!? For a minute I was about to take you seriously, but I wasn't going to fall for it. I had to do a little research on that one. They're still in fourth place, bud! I think La Cueva, with one district loss, is solidly in control of that district. The Demons are hot, no question, but it looks like they're going to have to get it done in the district tournament to, as you put it, "host a playoff game."

The district tournament format has both it's good and bad points. I believe Valley in 1997 or 1998 was another team that went from worst to first, in fact I think they won it all, didn't they? It's a lot like college, but it happens more often in high school. For instance, UNH, as terrible as they are, is mathematically alive to cut down the nets in San Antonio. They could win the America East tournament and then win a quick six games in the round of 65. It will NEVER happen, but the fact that that path exists is fascinating, that there is a direct link between what happens in Durham, NH on a snowy evening in February and the Final Four in San Antonio a couple of months later.

On the other hand, wouldn't these late-season district games be far more exciting if teams like West Mesa, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe didn't have to rely on the District tournaments to save their seasons? Oh, and West Mesa and Del Norte destroyed by class A and AA schools? Sorry, dude, it wouldn't happen. Maybe a particular team, like Del Norte this year in football, but for the most part the larger schools prevail, except in rare cases. It's a whole different level of talent. But hey, maybe you can get an AD position at a A or AA school and schedule one of those games, just to see what happens. Or, better yet, get a hold of that guy Chris Chakeres at Santa Fe prep and convince him that challenging the 'Stangs or Knights is in the best interest of his program.

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Dude, there is no doubt in my mind that the Hatch Valley Bears, the AA champs in football, would have laid serious waste to West Mesa and Del Norte this year. They suited up more people, had guys who could have matched up in size and speed with them, etc...I am also fairly certain that this year's Hope Huskies would easily beat both Del Norte and West Mesa in hoops. Hope has beated several 5A schools in the summer including last year's Nevada 5A champ. The Des Moines girls, three time A champs in hoops would easily beat the offerings from Del Norte and West Mesa. Now many AA and A teams would get rocked by the better 5A schools but West Mesa and Del Norte are horrible athletic programs that should drop down to AA just to build their confidence again.

You are right about the tournaments. I have always wondered what a school like Prairie View A & M thinks when a new season is upon them. Do they honestly think they will cut down the nets? Are they playing for the conference championship? Or are they playing just to get into the dance hoping they will not be a 16th seed? Or does the starting point guard on Prairie View honestly think that his team will win the whole thing.

I think I might make the weekly men's college basketball power rankings a regular feature of my blog. Here's what stood out for me, as they appeared at the above link as of this afternoon:

1--Duke--same as last week

3--Gonzaga

7--OK State--faces

20--Kansas tonight on ESPN.

25--Providence

27--Air Force

39--UTEP: what the !@#$%? The Miners are a freaking bubble team? Who was complaining about an East Coast bias?

48--BC

53--Wisconsin-Milwaukee

87--Marquette--Ouch, the second highest-rated team in Milwaukee. Palms, I think you have something stuck in your eye.

101--Boston U--all college hoops fans in New England better be paying attention to the America East final next month, between the Terriers and UVM

110--Wyoming--Big game in Albuquerque tonight, the battle for 109th place, against

111--Lobos

130-Vermont

190--Aggies--right behind Northeastern and right ahead of St. John's (Fraschilla leaves programs in good shape, no?)

214--Maine

299--UNH--Yes! Cracked the top 300! I guess beating

308--Albany on the Great Danes' home floor by 6 has to mean SOMETHING

325--NC A& T--Yes! Cracked the top 325! Look out, Arkansas-Pine Bluff! The Aggies are closing in on 324!

326--Navy--Dead last. Doesn't Annapolis have a tradition where the graduate who is ranked last in the class is honored every year? Maybe they could honor the whole team if these rankings hold.

Who said America East basketball wasn't worth watching? Fresh off my rant against the UNH basketball program, my favorite columnist, Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, wrote a column about this past weekend's Vermont-Northeastern game, and how popular Catamount basketball is in the Green Mountain State. Why can't UNH get with the program?

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Not a great weekend for sports around here. Friday night's games were snowed out. On Saturday morning I did a guest spot on the radio, giving my expertise on various topics, most of all the Class L boys' basketball season so far. I installed a dart board in my house, as well as my high-speed internet connection and digital cable. Digital cable I can live without, but my high-speed internet is here to stay--I love it. I also saw the movie Miracle, which, as far as sports movies go, is pretty damn good.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I used my high-speed modem to listen to the end of the Lobo game Saturday night! And I listened to a little of the call-in show, and everyone seemed pretty positive. I turned it off after someone started complaining about the officiating--pretty damn typical. If I am not too tired I will listen again tonight.

Valdez's response:

Rio won pretty convincingly which has people saying that the Rio team that whipped Valley is the same team that can win State and looked like the preseason #1. The other big win was Santa Fe 70 La Cueva 67!!!!!! The Demons had gotten so close to beating someone good, they finally did it and I am pretty fired up. Eldorado took Hobbs into overtime before Hobbs pulled it out. Eldorado was in control throughout the whole game. Something tells me we will be seeing the Eagles at State. I have attached the article about the Demon win. The article says that 800 people showed up to the game, the largest crowd. Well back when the Demons where good, before the liberals, hippies, and gays took over the City, Toby Roybal would have crowds of up to 6,000, the capacity of the place. It will be that way again.

I too saw the movie Miracle, not bad. I liked it. It was better than the Mighty Ducks. I got that movie Radio as a gift, which I was not too thrilled with to begin with since it took the focus off the high school football to this dude. This weekend was full of food, none of which I had to buy myself. We tried going to Outback Friday night but it was a 2 hour wait so we went to Carabbas instead. Last night we went to PF Changs. My first experience there. It was pretty damn good, I tell you what. Glad you listened to the Lobo game.

This week there are some huge games on tap, including Cibola and Rio Grande on the 12th. I hate these week night games because it is pretty impossible for me to get in because by the time I get off they are no longer selling tickets. I hate it!