The Pit is getting ready to rumble. University Arena has seen its share of concerts, men’s and women’s NCAA tournament basketball games and boxing bouts. Now, mixed martial arts will debut Aug.
Whether by accident or with intent, almost all of UNM head women’s basketball coach Yvonne Sanchez’s assistant coaches have some connection to the Mountain West Conference or The Pit.
It’s not easy being a New York Mets fan. Even in New Mexico. Seriously. I’ve come to find out that I am the butt of baseball jokes.
Twenty years ago in soccer, Mexico vs. USA meant another win for our southern neighbors. In fact, it was so lopsided from 1934 to 1991 that Mexico dominated the U.S., going 23-2-3. Since then, however, it has become one of the best sports rivalries in North America. It doesn’t have the history of Yankees vs. Red Sox, or the popularity of Lakers vs. Celtics, but it does have two countries whose fans and players genuinely dislike one another. Since 1991, the U.S. is a remarkable 13-10-7 against Mexico. This is extraordinary given America’s disinterest in soccer.
The New Mexico Bowl has been given a fashionable new look. ESPN and Gildan Activewear Inc. announced a multi-year deal on June 20 to sponsor the bowl beginning with the 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium.
There’s never a dull moment in UNM Athletics, even on the field, which is why this column is about a month overdue. With the unexpected four-game winning streak of the UNM baseball team at the Mountain West Conference tournament at the end of May, I stalled on a “2010-11 in review” of Lobo sports. But the time to look back on Athletics this past year has finally presented itself. UNM Women’s Soccer First, I’d like to give a round of applause to the UNM women’s soccer team. The team advanced to its first NCAA tournament appearance in its history in 2010. They won the MWC regular-season championship for the first time in school history.
UNM football player Deshon Marman has yet to play a single down for the Lobo football team, but he’s already made a name for himself. San Francisco Police said Marman — a junior college transfer defensive back — was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport for sagging his pajama pants while boarding a US Airways flight back to Albuquerque on Wednesday. San Francisco Police Sgt.
There was more screaming than kicking for UNM women’s soccer player Roxie McFarland growing up. McFarland, who is a Lobo midfielder, said she played on a boys’ team when she was younger.
The UNM track and field team has two All-American Englishmen. Rory Fraser and Keith Gerrard ran in the men’s 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races, respectively, this weekend at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, and both finished in the top eight. Fraser ran one of his best times (13:39.40) and said his strategy was to keep up with the fresh legs by not running the 10,000-meter the day before. For the first time since he left England three years ago, his parents were in the audience watching him compete. “There were some guys that were just doing the 5k, and they knew that they could make it faster and help their chances to make the other guys even more tired,” he said. “So they basically just went quick from the very beginning, and I just tried to hold on as long as possible, and I just ran for as long as I could and that’s what got me sixth place.”
My fellow Americans, this is a call to reason, not a plea of insanity: Give up on soccer promptly. Winning the World Cup is a pipe dream, a fool’s errand, a fairy tale with a reality-show ending.
Ten Lobos ran and jumped their way to championships this year. Nine members of the UNM track and field team qualified at the NCAA West Qualifying Round in Eugene, Ore. for the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Roman Martinez and Daniel Faris are back in their old stomping ground, but not for long. Martinez and Faris, former UNM men’s basketball players, are back in Albuquerque for offseason training for their professional basketball careers. Neither is in the NBA or the NBA Development League in the United States, but both have found roster spots overseas. “It’s not bad,” Faris said.
In an ideal world, Plaxico “Cheddar Bob” Burress will soon go from jail bird to Philadelphia Eagle.
This season, UNM baseball catcher Mitchell Garver’s walk-up song to the batter’s box was David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” By the looks of the season, that was about the only dancing UNM would do.
“Define the moment, or the moment will define you” is something Danielle Castro’s father always tells her.
Swing, strike, sit was the theme of the weekend for Air Force — except for three innings. The Lobos completed a sweep of Air Force on Sunday with a 16-4 win at Lobo Field, but they couldn’t record three straight shutouts. Starting pitcher Rudy Jaramillo blanked the Falcons 5-0 on Friday, and pitcher Jake McCasland followed suit on Saturday, helping the Lobos to a 10-0 win and their first back-to-back shutouts since 1983. The UNM bullpen dominated AFA, but head coach Ray Birmingham bemoaned his team’s inconsistency.
UNM men’s basketball team’s player Chad Adams, 20, was arrested Sunday morning and charged with DWI, according to Metropolitan Court records. Adams was arrested near I-25 and Comanche Road at 3:04 a.m.
Racquetball is the fastest-growing sport at UNM. For eight years, the UNM racquetball club team has practiced and played on the top-level courts at Johnson Center. Ray Gomez, who has been on the team for three years, said that the club has expanded. “In my first year, we maybe had eight people, and now we have around 20,” he said.
The UNM softball team didn’t have an affinity for defense, nor did Colorado State. The Lobos smashed 17 hits — four long balls — en route to Saturday’s 13-7 win against CSU at Lobo Field. Head coach Erica Beach said she expected an offensive battle against the Rams. “That’s how they play the game,” she said.
At 5-feet-4-inches tall, UNM utility player Jessica Garcia isn’t the most daunting player on the softball diamond. But when she steps into the batter’s box, pitchers shake in their cleats.
Solutions by The State News
