It was a split-second decision that might have cost Darington Hobson first-round money. On Thursday night, Hobson was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (37th overall) of thhe NBA Draft. Back in April, Hobson made the decision to put his name into the NBA Draft lot.
The monotone cadence present in Darington Hobson’s voice either belies his truest emotions or suggests he’s not the least bit worried about his draft stock, though he won’t cop to being so self-assured. “I don’t get caught up in who wants me the most,” Hobson said, sleepily, in a telephone interview the evening before the NBA Draft.
Gather ’round the camp fire, high school young’ns. The UNM men’s basketball team hosted a high school camp for teams from New Mexico and Western Texas and one team from Wasilla, Alaska. The four-day team camp took place June 17-20 and was intended to develop up-and-coming high school basketball stars. Wasilla, Alaska dominated pool play, where it won all four games against top New Mexico teams like La Cueva and Roswell Goddard.
College football will have a much different landscape in 2011 after the conference realignment that has taken place over the last few weeks.
by Isaac Avilucea Daily Lobo Oh, how we honor you, William and Joseph. If “Remember Koman Coulibaly.
UNM track and field athletes and fans alike faced a bittersweet end —but mostly bitter— to the NCAA track championships. It started with Sandy Fortner in the heptathlon, who dropped out after the shot put. Because of rainy weather conditions in Eugene, Ore., Fortner, who was ranked fifth going into the event, fouled on all three of her throw attempts, causing her to drop to 22nd in the standings. Fortner then decided to withdraw from the event.
Welcome to the mountain top, Boise State. On June 11, Boise State University became the 10th member of the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos, who left the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), will join the MWC effective July 11, 2011. “There is no doubt the addition of Boise State strengthens the membership of the Mountain West Conference,”
It’s the big leagues for five Lobo baseball players. The UNM baseball team had five players drafted in the 10 MLB Draft on June 8, 9 and 10. Although no Lobos were taken on the draft’s first day, four players were taken on the second day and one on the final day. The Lobos send two starting pitchers and the heart of their batting order from the 2010 season to the professional ranks.
The season and the dream are over. Lobo head coach Ray Birmingham was able to deliver on his promise and take the UNM baseball team to the NCAA baseball championship after only three years with UNM. The UNM baseball team was eliminated Sunday from the NCAA tournament by Cal-State Fullerton, 11-3, in the NCAA Fullerton Region. The tournament appearance for the Lobos was the first since 1962, a 48-year drought. The Titans put up a two-run home run in the first inning by Corey Jones and CSF added two more in the third inning to go up 5-0. Cal-State Fullerton never looked back. The Lobos did mend the wounds by scoring two runs in the bottom off of a Daniel Gonzalez single. Senior Max Willett added to the Lobos’ tally by a single of his own. Cal-State Fullerton’s Nick Ramirez hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third and ended Lobos starting pitcher Mike Lachapelle. Kenny Toves allowed another run in the inning and added to the Titans score, 7-2. UNM finished with a 38-22 record and won the first game of the Fullerton Region with a victory over Stanford on Friday. However, the Lobos lost to Minnesota, 7-4, on Saturday to move into the consolation bracket. If the Lobos had beaten CSF, they would have played Minnesota again on Sunday night for the opportunity to advance to the Super Regionals of the tournament.
Michael Jordan once said, “You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way.” Jordan’s wisdom became philosophy during Lobo head basketball coach Steve Alford’s basketball camp last week at the Rudy Davalos Center, one of many camps scheduled throughout the summer.
by Chris Quintana Daily Lobo Six of UNM’s best athletes gathered outside UNM’s track Friday for interviews, but everyone could tell their minds were already at Hayward Field, the venue for the NCAA Championships. When championships kick off Wednesday in Eugene, Ore., the Lobos will send seven representatives to compete — Lee Emanuel, Jacob Kirwa, Chris Barnicle, Ruth Senior, Sandy Fortner, Deanna Young and Lamaar Thomas. Of the seven, five — Emanuel, Kirwa, Barnicle, Senior and Thomas — will compete in track events, while Young will look to bring home hardware in the triple jump and Fortner in the grueling heptathalon.
On the continuum of sport and dramatized exhibition, there’s a difference between Deion “Primetime” Sanders and “Hollywood” Hogan. With all due respect to the entertainers, Ultimate Fighting Championship is boxing and World Wrestling Entertainment’s bastard offspring. After watching Rashad Evans tactically obliterate hulking brute Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, I was temporarily considering rescinding my stalwart belief that UFC is not a sport, but rather neatly crafted spectacle masquerading as legitimate sporting competition. In full disclosure, I must admit that Evans-Jackson and the preceding undercards were the first UFC bouts I’ve seen since the MMA has been popularized.
The 48-year wait is over. And for head baseball coach Ray Birmingham, his three-year promise became a reality. On Monday, the UNM baseball team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA baseball tournament for the first time since 1962.
Looks are not deceiving. The UNM baseball team was literally horned by TCU Sunday at Isotopes Park, and after the game it looked it.
Willy Kesler needs to buy outfielder Max Willett a nice steak dinner after the UNM baseball team’s 3-2 victory over No.
If ever I am afforded the opportunity to pen an autobiography, there will inescapably be a chapter dedicated to my 2009-10 year as sports editor, a year that, synopsized, witnessed equal amounts of spanking and stroking. Yet few remember the stroking, just the spanking.
No, it’s not just Ray Birmingham’s patented hyperbole. By virtue of its 14-3 league record, and storied, year-to-year dominance, TCU is the team to beat in the Mountain West Conference. Not only that, said the Lobos’ head baseball coach. “They very well could be the team to beat in Omaha,” Birmingham said. First, though, the Lobos will take a crack at unseating the Horned Frogs from their proverbial conference lily pad during Friday’s toe-the-rubber matchup, the first in a three-game series between the two conference foes at Isotopes Park. To be assured of first place in the MWC, the Lobos, 30-15 overall and 12-5 in the MWC, must sweep TCU to take over sole possession of first place.
Playing golf during Minnesota’s bitter-cold winters is a task. Just ask UNM golfer Travis Ross. First, you have to layer with warm clothes.
Without Stephen Strasburg, the pitcher Lobo head coach Ray Birmingham once said was rumored to be worth $25 million, San Diego State is worth all of 25 bucks. The Lobos took the rubber match 20-8 Sunday at Tony Gwynn Stadium, snatching two of three games from the Aztecs over the weekend — this coming after the Lobos withered rather embarrassingly on national television Friday night, suffering their first shutout since April 17, 2009.
It is one thing for an athlete in an individual sport to talk about internal competition. It is another thing entirely to witness it.
Solutions by The State News
