It’s the most wonderful time of the year as the quest for the Stanley Cup began Saturday, April 19. Only one team will claim the hardest trophy to win in professional sports. Here are my predicted winners for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Where there’s a victor, there’s a loser, and sometimes certain athletes contribute to their team’s shortcomings. These athletes are favorably called bobbleheads. The NBA Play-In Tournament is a place no team wants to be. It is the ugly middle ground between being a true contender for a championship and being a mediocre team hoping to sneak into the playoffs. In this no-man’s land of basketball, there are quite a few athletes who decided to force their team backwards and into the offseason.
On Friday, April 18, the Albuquerque Isotopes took on the El Paso Chihuahuas for the fourth game of their series. The Isotopes came into the game leading the series 2-1 over the Chihuahuas, after beating them 11-8 on Thursday, April 17. This game, however, did not have the same outcome for the Isotopes, as a 10-run fifth inning by the Chihuahuas fueled the Isotopes’ loss, tying the series at 2-2. That fifth inning was nightmarish for the Isotopes. Going into it, they found themselves up 3-1 due to a solid third inning. Pitching up until the fifth inning for the Isotopes was decent, but something switched going into the fifth.
On Wednesday, April 16, the second game of the six-game series between the Albuquerque Isotopes and the El Paso Chihuahuas ended in a 9-6 loss for the Isotopes. The Isotopes started the game with pitcher Carson Palmquist, who pitched for the first five innings. In the first inning, both teams came out of the gate putting up zeroes on the board. While the game started off slow, it picked up speed in the third inning when El Paso scored two runs, capitalizing off of errors by the Isotopes. At the bottom of the third, the Isotopes responded by scoring three runs.
The University of New Mexico baseball team took on the Texas Tech Red Raiders on April 8. The Lobos wasted no time during the game, starting the night off with two home runs that ignited a scoring surge — racking up seven runs in the first inning alone. UNM ended the game with a 15-5 win. UNM Head Coach Tod Brown said he was pleased with the team's aggressive start. “I thought our guys came out and had a great plan and executed it very well,” Brown said.
The federal government terminated the records of several University of New Mexico international students amid reports of the revocation of hundreds of student visas across the country. The Student & Exchange Visitor Information System is a federal tracking system for nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors in the United States, according to the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. A “handful” of UNM students had their SEVIS records terminated recently, according to UNM Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Cinnamon Blair. The termination of a SEVIS record does not necessarily mean a student’s visa was revoked, but there is often overlap between the two actions.
On Friday, April 4, the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico Elections Commission named Andrew Norton the winner of the ASUNM presidential race over current Vice President Mutazz Jaber, certifying the results of March’s election.
On April 7, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency in Albuquerque due to a "significant increase” in crime, authorizing emergency funds for the New Mexico National Guard to assist the Albuquerque Police Department, according to her executive order. Beginning in mid-May, 60-70 National Guard members will be deployed to Albuquerque, according to a press release from the governor's office. They will focus particularly on Central Avenue, which encapsulates the southern boundary of the University of New Mexico’s main campus. Lujan Grisham signed the order after APD Chief Harold Medina sent her a memorandum requesting assistance due to the “fentanyl epidemic coupled with an increase in violent juvenile crime.” In the memorandum, Medina wrote that the problem “can only be resolved with consistent and visible presence of APD officers to Albuquerque’s citizens.”
Construction on the new headquarters for the University of New Mexico Police Department is set to begin this month in the former Greek Lot. The new UNMPD headquarters, on the southeast corner of University Boulevard and Mesa Vista Road, will replace the current headquarters located in Hokona Hall and include an updated dispatch center, dedicated training areas and a public meeting room, according to Lt. Tim Delgado. The project will address the growing need for a facility dedicated to supporting effective operations, ensuring safety and enhancing community engagement on campus, Delgado wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo.
On Wednesday, April 9, the Albuquerque Consulate of Mexico and four University of New Mexico faculty members held a public meeting to discuss and answer questions about the tariffs recently implemented by President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, Trump paused tariffs on nearly 60 countries, but imposed 145% tariffs on products from China, according to the New York Times. In the simplest form, tariffs are taxes on goods that come from other countries, Reilly White, a UNM associate professor of finance, told the Daily Lobo in March. Event coordinator and law professor Paul Figueroa believes that tariffs will raise government revenue, but he finds “less empirical evidence” to substantiate the idea that the tariffs will save money for the average consumer, he said.
After receiving hundreds of public comments largely criticizing the University of New Mexico’s prospective affirmative action policy changes, the school released two new draft policies Thursday, April 10. The new draft policies keep in more references to affirmative action — or sometimes replace it with “inclusive excellence” — but still remove requirements for UNM to have an affirmative action plan and gather and report affirmative action data. The new policies also still remove the ability for a hiring official, in certain circumstances, to fill a position with a member of a historically underrepresented group if another more qualified member of a protected group is unlikely to apply. The previous draft policies — released March 28 — removed nearly all references to affirmative action.
On Saturday, April 12, Casa San Ysidro hosted a talk on the “Bad Girls of New Mexico” with historian Robert Tórrez. Casa San Ysidro is a reconstructed historical building located in the village of Corrales. The property is owned by the Albuquerque Museum. On the second Saturday of every month, free public events are held there, featuring guest speakers who cover New Mexico history. Visits to and tours of Casa San Ysidro typically cost $4-$6 on weekdays, but admission is free every Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Jo’s Farms — located in Albuquerque’s North Valley — held a plant sale from April 4-6 as part of its mission to highlight love and enthusiasm for lavender. Owner Lisa Fontanarosa purchased Jo's Farms in 2017. The farm is named after her mother, Josephine, she said. When Fontanarosa purchased the property, it was filled with horses, donkeys and alpacas, she said. But she saw the vision of a lavender field.
On April 4, Warner Bros. Studio released “A Minecraft Movie” starring Jack Black. It’s a disaster. Minecraft — the source material for the film — is an open world sandbox game first released in 2011. It became iconic for its unique look: In the world of Minecraft, everything is cubes or blocks. The game has vast functionality, allowing players to build structures, fight monsters, fish and explore caves to mine for ore.
Former basketball player Derrick Rose is eligible to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after the 2027-28 season. But the question is: is he a Hall-of-Famer? As much admiration as I have for the way D-Rose played the game of basketball, I do not believe that he is a Hall-of-Famer. There is a lot of evidence pointing to the case for Rose being in the Hall of Fame. For starters, D-Rose was a crucial piece to the Chicago Bulls’ success during his early years with the team.
The “White Boy of the Month” contest, an event with 21 contestants and over 50 attendees, was abruptly ended by University of New Mexico authorities on Thursday, April 10. The 21 contestants would have competed with impressions, dancing and any audience-suggested options while standing on a stool. Event posters posted around campus, featuring images of Zac Efron, Timothée Chalamet and Justin Bieber, encouraged all to compete.
On Friday, April 11, the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History hosted an adult STEM night called “Discovery After Dark.” The event invited people 21 years and older to experience the museum’s “thought-provoking and engaging exhibits while participating in hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and math fun,” according to Visit Albuquerque. Attendees were catered to by local vendors, such as food trucks and the nearby Bombs Away Beer Company. Among the exhibits was a booth where Gabriel Nemiroff, the museum’s director of education, gave lessons on folding origami cranes. The origami cranes were part of a project called Peace Cranes, related to a large hanging art installation above the exhibit.
Another year has passed, meaning another new lineup of food has been unveiled at Isotopes Park. Chef Jim Griego hit it out of the ballpark yet again, with seven new delightful dishes, including the Ballpark Sandwich, Spicy Roasted Half Chicken, Hungarian Hot Smoked Paprika Chicken Wings, Fanfare Milkshake, Ice Cream Nachos, Piña Colada Ice Cream Float and Brownie Sundae. Not one, not two, but four new desserts round out the bases this year at the Sweet Spot stand. Sadly, I only got to try the Fanfare Milkshake and Brownie Sundae. However, from the looks of the Piña Colada Ice Cream Float and Ice Cream Nachos, they’ll also be fan favorites.
On Sunday, April 13 at 4 p.m., Cirque Mechanics will return to Popejoy Hall to perform its latest creation, “Pedal Punk.” Cirque Mechanics is “renowned for its groundbreaking fusion of circus artistry and mechanical ingenuity,” according to a Popejoy press release. Founded in 2004 by married couple Chris and Aida Lashua, Cirque Mechanics puts a spin on American circus with a mix of mechanical elements and human acrobatics.
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