I recently contracted a case of the Cowboy blues. In recent weeks, God's existence oscillated in my world, especially in Sunday's 30-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. One minute - when Nick Folk hit a 52-yard field goal to send the game into overtime - there was no doubt in my mind, God subsists.
Trying to figure out the NFL is harder than predicting New Mexico weather. Two weeks ago, I wrote a column proclaiming that the NFC had dethroned the AFC as the best conference in the NFL. It seemed the NFC East was clearly the best division in the entire league.
The UNM football team will try to redeem itself after losing to No. 9 BYU by 18 points. The Lobos will maintain the same Rocky-ball game plan - running the ball and controlling the clock - against another Mountain West Conference opponent Saturday when San Diego State stumbles into Albuquerque.
Steve Saunders has iron running through his veins. Since he can remember, he has been involved in golf. His father, Dave Saunders, was a member of the NMSU golf team back in his heyday. "My dad owns a golf store here in town called Golf Mart," Saunders said.
For Carl Ho, Christmas came early. The freshman won the finals in the UNM Balloon Fiesta Invitational. A few other newcomers put up some solid results as well. After six days of tennis last week at the ITA All-American Tournament in Tulsa, Okla., the tennis team was right back at it with the Balloon Fiesta Invitational this weekend.
If Sacramento State was a speed bag, the UNM men's soccer team thoroughly worked them early on Sunday at the UNM Soccer Complex with two quick, decisive blows, leading 2-0 less than seven minutes into the game. But as any boxer will tell you, it's not about how you start; it's how you finish - something the Lobos have struggled to do.
Is facing the No. 9 team in the nation a blessing or a curse? That depends on the UNM football team's perspective. One thing is for sure: The Lobos have a chance to realign the football cosmos and throw a monkey wrench into the BCS picture Saturday when they take on BYU.
After two wins last week, the UNM softball team dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Eastern New Mexico University, 9-8 and 16-8. Head coach Ty Singleton said the Lobos needed to come out like they did last week in wins against West Texas A&M.
After one of its biggest wins of the season, the UNM volleyball team ran into a roadblock Saturday. Displaying little of the energy they showed in Thursday's sweep of No. 21 BYU, the Lobos were defeated 3-1 by Utah on Saturday. The loss puts the Lobos at 13-3 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West Conference.
When it rains, it pours. The UNM football team - 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West Conference - shut out the Wyoming Cowboys 24-0 on Saturday. Wyoming never gained traction on a soaked, soggy University Stadium field and was pummeled by a tough Lobo defense.
After the flu plagued last week's meet in Minneapolis, Minn., the UNM men's and women's cross country teams took eighth and ninth place in the Notre Dame Invitational on only six days' rest. Florida State University swept the field in South Bend, Ind., winning the men's and women's tournaments.
James Aho, by all definitions, fits the quaint, stereotypical mold of a kicker. He is reserved and reluctant to talk - to the point that one of Aho's teammates playfully volunteered to speak on his behalf. "I told you guys to block me off," Aho said, jaw-jabbing at his lockermates for pointing him out.
As much as Lobo fans hate the Aggies, they might just owe them a Hallmark thank-you card at the end of the season. After a 35-24 win over NMSU pulled the Lobos to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the Mountain West Conference, UNM cornerback Glover Quin said this week's Homecoming game against Wyoming might be the defining point in the Lobos' season.
While Donovan Porterie was studying film on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, his family was busy preparing for Hurricane Ike. Porterie, a Port Arthur, Texas, native, said his family was affected by the storm that whipped across the Texas coastline. "They had a mandatory evacuation two or three days before the Tulsa game," Porterie said.
UNM made its homecoming in style Thursday with a 3-0 win over BYU in Mountain West Conference volleyball action. After being away from Johnson Gym for more than a month, the Lobos swept the 21st-ranked Cougars 25-22, 25-19, 25-17. "We executed our game plan and moved the ball around well," head coach Jeff Nelson said.
Since 2000, the AFC has been the superior conference in the NFL, with the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 2007 New York Giants being the only NFC teams to win Super Bowls this decade. But after New York's monumental upset of then 18-0 New England in the Super Bowl - coupled with Tom Brady's season-ending injury - it seems the balance of power has shifted to the NFC.
It's Homecoming Week and UNM redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Gruner's first home start. Gruner will make his second career start Saturday and will look for his second career win. In his first collegiate start last week against NMSU, Gruner trudged through a dismal first half of offense, helping the Lobos storm back to beat the Aggies with 25 second-half points.
After coming out smokin' and leading its nearest competitor by five strokes, the UNM men's golf team let its lead slip away to UNLV in the last 18 holes Saturday. The Lobos, who hosted the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate Tournament, took second place with a combined score of 1-under par - 11 strokes behind UNLV.
LAS CRUCES - UNM cornerback Glover Quin capped Saturday night with a message for Aggie fans. "Tell them to get in their little bitty cars and drive home," he said. Of course, NMSU was already home. It was the sweetest possible way for the Lobos to win - and the most unsavory way for the Aggies to lose.
LAS CRUCES - Paul Baker didn't get the memo that the UNM football team belonged to Rodney Ferguson. The 5-feet-7-inch, 198 pound Baker, who is known for his nimble running style, rammed out 146 yards on 37 rushes Saturday against the New Mexico State Aggies.
Solutions by The State News
